TEMPERATURES AND WATERING. 



257 



the air passes over the hot- water pipes, and becomes tempered before it reaches the 

 plants. It is only during the hottest part of July and August that fire heat may be 

 wholly dispensed with. 



September or the commencement of autumn should see the completion of the ripen- 

 ing and solidifying of the growth of the majority of stove plants, an important process 

 which was well commenced by the admission of more air in August. In September the 

 temperature may be lowered somewhat, or about 5° all round, and less atmospheric 

 moisture maintained. From 65° by night to 70° by day, with an occasional fall of 5° 

 on cold nights or dull cold days, answers well throughout the rest of the winter. There 

 is no real necessity to strictly maintain a certain fixed temperature, and a slight fall is 

 better for the plants than the costly attempt to force up the heat by hard firing. 



During the late autumn and winter months is, or ought to be, the resting period of 

 most stove plants, and every care should be taken to avoid exciting them into growth 

 at unseasonable times. All the light and sunshine possible should reach the plants 

 during the dullest period of the year. Where the old-fashioned glazing still prevails it 

 may be necessary to open the top ventilators on warm, sunny days to check feeble 

 growth, but there is not much need for this in the case of roofs in which little wood 

 and much glass is to be seen. 



The temperatures for the more mixed houses, or what are termed cooler stoves, should 

 be from 5° to 10° lower all the year round than those recommended for the hotter stoves, 

 but in all other respects the foregoing remarks are equally applicable. 



Watering and Syringing. 

 When to apply and when to withhold water will be mentioned in connection with 

 the cultural hints recommended for the various kinds of plants taken in detail, but a 

 few general remarks will not be out of place here, for no subject is more important. A 

 too free use of the watering-pot. is particularly to be guarded against in the spring, or 

 directly after many of the plants have been repotted. Enough water must be given 

 to keep the old ball of soil and roots steadily moist, but care must be taken not to 

 saturate and sour the new soil, as this, completely unfits it for the reception of delicate 

 root-fibres. If the old soil is moist : as it ought to be when a fresh pot is given to a 

 plant, and the new compost is also moist enough for compression, there ought to be 

 no necessity to apply water for a week other than what the plants may derive from the 

 daily syringings. 



VOL. 11. L L 



