28 FRUIT CULTURE UNDER GLASS. 



day when the pinery is shut up, and at the same time 

 the paths and walls damped with the syringe. With- 

 out a moist atmosphere at this season the growth will 

 be deficient in broadness, texture, and that dark-green 

 hue which indicates that all is going on well. I dis- 

 approve of heavily syringing young growing pines, and 

 much prefer the moisture to be applied by evaporation. 

 On the afternoons of very bright days an occasional 

 syringing overhead through a iine rose is beneficial, and 

 keeps the plants clean ; but regular heavy syringings 

 have a tendency to keep the soil in a puddled state, 

 as the leaves conduct all the water that falls on them 

 into the pot, and this has a tendency to produce a soft 

 unfruitful growth. 



With increased air, light, and heat, and the very mode- 

 rate syringings recommended, the state of the soil as to 

 moisture must be carefully watched. An equal and 

 healthy amount of moisture must be maintained. No 

 amount of attention should be considered too much to 

 prevent the soil from becoming dusty- dry on the one 

 hand, or over wet on the other, otherwise a check may 

 be given and an amount of mischief produced that no 

 after-treatment can retrieve. It is a great mistake to 

 suppose that a check is not as likely to arise from plants 

 being kept too dry as from the opposite extreme. 



When bottom-heat depends on leaves and tan, it not 

 unfrequently occurs, although the heat may be just 

 right in March and April, that the hotter sun of May 

 causes an increase of heat just at a time when the younf 

 roots are reaching the sides of the pot and are most 

 susceptible of injury. The safest way is to have a ther- 

 mometer in the bed, and as soon as the heat exceeds 90", 

 to shake the pots from side to side and leave an opening 



