14 
PROPAGATION AND MANAGEMENT OF GREENHOUSE, 
The most natural and successful method of procuring plants is unquestionably 
by seeds ; but as many of our most valuable sorts do not flower in this country, no 
seeds can ever be obtained in this case. There are, likewise, several kinds that can 
be readily increased by cuttings of the roots, which will not propagate from the 
shoots, or produce seeds freely. When, however, a collection of seeds can be 
procured from abroad, in a recent state, there is a great chance of obtaining new 
or rare plants : a portion of such should be sown immediately on their arrival, as 
many of them will be found to vegetate when first received, that would not, if kept 
to the ensuing spring. Those from a tropical country will require a moderate 
bottom heat to assist their germination. 
Seeds from New Holland, the Cape, and other mild climates, will vegetate 
readily by being placed in a cold frame, or in a cool shaded part of the green-house, 
and kept regularly supplied with due proportions of water, so that the soil in which 
they are sown may be kept in a moist vegetating state. The green-house plants, 
as well as all other scarce sorts, which have flowered during the season, should be 
carefully examined, to see if they have perfected their seeds, when a collection of 
all the most valuable species should be gathered, as they ripen, and should be laid 
up until the following February, when a general sowing should be made. 
The seed pots ought to be well drained with broken crocks, or small stones, or 
cinders, and then the remaining space rilled up with light sandy loam and peat, 
well incorporated together, and finely sifted for the small seeds. As all the sorts 
will not vegetate at the same time, some will make their appearance in a few weeks, 
whilst others may remain dormant for nearly two years, and afterwards vegetate : 
we must, therefore, never be too hasty in throwing away the seed pots, until we 
are thoroughly convinced that there is no chance of any of the remaining seeds 
coming up. 
As soon as the seedling plants appear above ground, they should be carefully 
watered with a fine rose watering pot ; and when they get a little advanced in 
their growth, should be potted off into small pots, and replaced in a frame, where 
they can be shaded and attended with water, until they get established in their 
pots, and are hardened by degrees to the temperature of the green-house, to which 
they should be removed. Such plants as appear to be drawn up weakly should 
have their tops pinched off, which will induce them to shoot into handsome bushy 
plants. 
Management op Hothouse Plants.— The house intended for the growth 
of stove or tropical plants, should be constructed so as to give a proper command of 
artificial heat in the winter season, when a high temperature is requisite for the 
preservation of the plants. These being natives of warm climates, require a strong 
degree of heat, to induce them to grow and flourish in the confined apartments that 
are allotted for their cultivation. 
The soil that appears most appropriate for the growth of the greater portion 
of stove plants, is sandy loam, consisting of the sward from a pasture., which should 
be thrown together in a heap, to decompose and pulverise for a short time previous 
to using ; to which a portion of peat soil, mixed with it, will be a suitable compost 
