September, 1910 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
179 
soak up water, a condition hard to de¬ 
scribe exactly, but at once recognizable af¬ 
ter a little practice. During the dull win¬ 
ter months, it will be sufficient for most 
plants in the greenhouse to receive water 
twice a week, or even less often, but on 
the coming of warm spring days, more 
frequently, until care is needed daily. 
There are some old fogy ideas about soft 
and tepid water, which may help confuse 
the beginner. They accomplish nothing 
more. Recent experiments, made by one 
of the state experiment stations, have con¬ 
firmed the experience of practical florists, 
that the temperature of water used, even 
to ice water, has almost absolutely no ef¬ 
fect—the reason being that the water ap¬ 
plied changes to the temperature of the 
soil almost before it can reach the roots 
of the plant at all. And hard and soft, 
spring and cistern water, have likewise 
been used without difference in results. 
The main thing is to attend to your wa¬ 
tering regularly, never letting the piants, 
get “dried out” or baked. 
Not the least important of the “arts” 
which the worker under glass has to ac¬ 
quire is that of “potting.” From the time 
the cuttings in the sand bench are rooted, 
until the plants are ready to go outdoors 
in the spring, they have to be potted and 
repotted. The operation is a very simple 
one when once acquired. To begin with 
the cutting: Take a two-inch pot (a few 
of the Geranium cuttings may require a 
2j4-inch pot), fill it level with the sifted 
soil, and with the forefinger make a hole 
large enough to receive the roots of the 
cutting and half its length, without bend¬ 
ing the roots up. With the thumbs press 
down the dirt firmly on either side of the 
cutting, and give the pot a clean short rap, 
either with the hand or by striking its 
bottom against the bench (which should 
be about waist high) to firm and level the 
earth in it. With a little practice this op¬ 
eration becomes a very easy and quick 
one. Place the pots side by side and give 
a thorough watering. Keep in a shaded 
place, or shade with newspapers, for 
four or six days, and as soon as growth 
begins, move the pots apart, to allow the 
free circulation of air before the plants 
crowd. The time for repotting in a larger 
size pot is shown by the condition of the 
roots; they should have formed a net¬ 
work about the side of the pot, but not 
have remained there long enough to be¬ 
come tough or hard. They should still be 
white “working” roots. To repot, remove 
the ball of earth from the old pot, by 
inverting, striking the rim of the pot 
against the edge of the bench (a light 
tap should be sufficient), taking care to 
have the index and middle finger on either 
side of the plant stem, to hold it readily. 
Put in the bottom of the new pot sufficient 
earth to bring the top of the ball of 
roots, when placed upon it, a little below 
the rim of the pot. PTold this ball firmly 
in the center of the new pot, and fill in 
the space about it with fresh earth, pack¬ 
ing it in firmly, using either the fingers or 
a bit of wood of convenient size. As a 
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