A very good propagating bed on a small scale can be constructed by
anyone handy with tools, by having the tinner make a tank three or four
inches deep to hold water in. The sand is laid on the tank and the
water is heated by a small lamp, care being taken to make a passage to
the open air for the escape of gas. The cost of such a case, if the tank
is made of zinc, will be about five dollars, and less if made of sheet iron.
The glass case that goes over the whole is made on the plan of a
miniature greenhouse, and the top should be removable at pleasure to
admit air. A thermometer ought to be kept constantly imbedded in
the sand so that the bottom heat is never allowed to get above seventy-
five degrees. Bottom heat — a technical term used in floriculture — is
secured by the heat of a furnace or by warm water or stable manure,
and in some cases by steam.
The " saucer system " is a simple method of propagating plants, and
is the safest of all procedures in inexperienced hands. Common sau-
cers or plates may be used to hold the sand in which the cuttings are
placed. The sand is put in, to the depth of an inch or so, and the cuttings
inserted in it close enough to touch each other. The sand is then
watered until it becomes in the condition of mud ; then placed on the shelf
of the greenhouse or in the window-sill of the sitting-room, fully exposed
to the sun and never shaded. But one condition is essential to success :
Until the cuttings become rooted the sand must be kept continually
saturated. If once permitted to dry up, exposed to the sun as they are,
the cuttings will quickly wilt and the whole operation will be defeated.
When the cuttings are rooted they should be potted in small pots and
treated carefully by shading and watering.
POTTING AND RE-POTTING.
If possible, never use any but the common clay pots, the fancy ones
are a failure as regards the health of the plants. Do not use saucers
under the pots, as the water that may leak through has a tendency
to draw the roots to the bottom of the pot and to perish or founder
EXTERMINATING INSECTS AND WORMS. 119
them. Gravel or broken crockery should be put into the bottom of the
pot for drainage.
You can have an improved flower pot, if made in this way : Get
one with holes in the side instead of in the bottom. All cultivators
know the difficulty experienced when the ordinary flower-pot is placed
on a bench covered with sand or soil. The outlet often becomes com-
pletely closed by the washing of the soil through the outlet, and, being
closed by the sand, the drainage becomes stopped as completely as if
there was no orifice at all in the bottom of the pot. Again, worms
breed quickly in the sand or soil, and seem to take a special pleasure in
crawling under and through the holes in the bottom of the pots, to get
at the rich soil which they contain. This improved pot is safe from the
first difficulty, as the holes, being on the sides of the pot, cannot be
clogged by the sand ; while it is far less tempting to the worm, as a spe-
cial effort must be made before the hole can be reached. Still another
advantage is that, as these orifices are placed above the bottom, air is
admitted more freely to the roots, a matter which is very essential to
the well-being of plants.
Page 105
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
A very good propagating bed on a small scale can be constructed by anyone handy with tools, by having the tinner make a tank three or four inches deep to hold water in. The sand is laid on the tank and the water is heated by a small lamp, care being taken to make a passage to the open air for the escape of gas. The cost of such a case, if the tank is made of zinc, will be about five dollars, and less if made of sheet iron.
The glass case that goes over the whole is made on the plan of a miniature greenhouse, and the top should be removable at pleasure to admit air. A thermometer ought to be kept constantly imbedded in the sand so that the bottom heat is never allowed to get above seventy-five degrees. Bottom heat — a technical term used in floriculture — is secured by the heat of a furnace or by warm water or stable manure, and in some cases by steam.
The " saucer system " is a simple method of propagating plants, and is the safest of all procedures in inexperienced hands. Common saucers or plates may be used to hold the sand in which the cuttings are placed. The sand is put in, to the depth of an inch or so, and the cuttings inserted in it close enough to touch each other. The sand is then watered until it becomes in the condition of mud ; then placed on the shelf of the greenhouse or in the window-sill of the sitting-room, fully exposed to the sun and never shaded. But one condition is essential to success : Until the cuttings become rooted the sand must be kept continually saturated. If once permitted to dry up, exposed to the sun as they are, the cuttings will quickly wilt and the whole operation will be defeated. When the cuttings are rooted they should be potted in small pots and treated carefully by shading and watering.
POTTING AND RE-POTTING.
If possible, never use any but the common clay pots, the fancy ones are a failure as regards the health of the plants. Do not use saucers under the pots, as the water that may leak through has a tendency to draw the roots to the bottom of the pot and to perish or founder
them. Gravel or broken crockery should be put into the bottom of the pot for drainage.
You can have an improved flower pot, if made in this way : Get one with holes in the side instead of in the bottom. All cultivators know the difficulty experienced when the ordinary flower-pot is placed on a bench covered with sand or soil. The outlet often becomes completely closed by the washing of the soil through the outlet, and, being closed by the sand, the drainage becomes stopped as completely as if there was no orifice at all in the bottom of the pot. Again, worms breed quickly in the sand or soil, and seem to take a special pleasure in crawling under and through the holes in the bottom of the pots, to get at the rich soil which they contain. This improved pot is safe from the first difficulty, as the holes, being on the sides of the pot, cannot be clogged by the sand ; while it is far less tempting to the worm, as a special effort must be made before the hole can be reached. Still another advantage is that, as these orifices are placed above the bottom, air is admitted more freely to the roots, a matter which is very essential to the well-being of plants.