184 



THE GREEN-HOUSE. 



these seeds will require till they come up, will be 

 gentle watering, so as always to keep the surface of 

 the soil moist, and weeding. The weeds should be 

 pulled when in their seed leaf, otherwise they are apt 

 to bring up the seeds wdth their roots, and thus, if 

 they are beginning to germinate, destroy them. 



As the weather becomes warm, and the sun shines 

 bright, the pots will require to be shaded for an hour 

 or two in the middle of every day. This may either 

 be done by a mat if they are in a frame, or by sheets 

 of gray paper if they are in the green-house. When 

 the plants begin to come up, this shading must be in- 

 creased. In two months most of the seeds, excepting 

 stones and nuts, will have vegetated; some of these 

 require to stand a year before they come up, and they 

 must be kept during this period in the same tempera- 

 ture as green-house plants. 



Watering, weeding, and shading having been at- 

 tended to till the middle of June, all those pots whose 

 seeds have come up may be removed to the open air, 

 and placed in the shade of a hedge or high wall, or of 

 wicker hurdles. Here being kept moist and weeded, 

 and worms, slugs, and other vermin kept from an- 

 noying them, they will be found fit to pot off by the 

 middle or end of July. 



It is very desirable to begin to pot off as early as 

 possible ; because while the plants are young and 

 small, their roots have not had time to mat together as 

 they do afterwards, and they therefore not only re- 

 ceive less injury by the operation, but the early period 



