THE AMATEURS FLOWER GARDEN. 
51 
so good as a tank, for the operator Las thus complete com¬ 
mand over Lis work, and can enjoy tLe comfort of a warm 
Louse wLile attending to Lis duties. As a rule, a bottom- 
Leat of GO 0 to 70° will suffice for all kinds of bedding plants 
that are struck from cuttings. A temperature of 80° to 90° 
may be used by persons who Lave Lad much experience, but 
70° should be the maximum for beginners. In a subsequent 
chapter the raising of plants from seeds will be treated in 
detail; and for that reason this method of procedure is in this 
section only referred to casually. 
Plants to be propagated from in 
spring should be in a free-growing 
state, because the best cuttings are 
those of shoots newly formed, and 
the worst those from shoots of last 
year. If therefore the plants are 
not freely growing, the propagator 
must wait for them; and to pro¬ 
mote free growth, the temperature 
of the Louse should be kept at from 
GO 5 to 70°, with a moderate amount 
of atmospheric moisture, and as 
much light as possible, so that the 
young shoots will be of a healthy 
green, and with short joints. Sup¬ 
pose we look over a lot of fuchsias 
that have been some time in a warm 
house, we shall find them full of cutting of fuchsia. 
little stubby side-shoots all ready 
to hand, without demanding any particular skill to remove 
them. Select one of these plump shoots, of an inch or an 
inch and a half long, press the thumb against it, and it will 
snap away “ with a heel”—that is, with a thickened base, the 
separation taking place at the point where it issues out of the 
old wood. When you have removed it, it will probably have 
such an appearance as in the subjoined figure. All that this re¬ 
quires for its preparation is to remove the bud which has just 
started near the base of the cutting, so as to leave a sufficient 
length of clear stem to insert the cutting in sand firmly. 
When so inserted, and kept moist, warm, and shaded, roots 
will soon be formed at the base; and as soon as the roots have 
begun to run in search of nourishment, the top of the shoot 
