CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - Pole Shift Survival Information

88 THE NURSERY-MANUAL
bth regularly planted. In outdoor practice, the cuttings which
are of medium length, from ti to S inches, derive more bottom
heat t.han the very long ones, such as were formerly used for
the propagation of the grape.
In indoor work, bottom heat is obtained
by means of fermenting manure, or, preferably,
by greenhouse pipes. Cutting-benches
should have abundant piping beneath, and
iu the case of many tropical and subtropical
species the bottom heat may be intensified
FIG. l s9. Forsyth’a by inclosing the benches below, so that no
cut t iw-pot.
heat can escape into the walks. Doors
IMJ* t)ta plac4 in the partition a,longside the walk, to serve as
0Wilrttrirs if the heat should become too iutense.
I%lci?lg Ullll potrctir2g the clltti~ngs
Cuttings usually ” strike” better when they touch the side
of the pot than when they are wholly surrounded by earth.
This is probably because the earthenware insures greater
uniformity iu draitlage t.han the earth, and supplies air and a
mild bottom heat; and it is possible that the deflection of the
plant-food t.owards the side of the pot, because of evaporation
therefrom, induces better growth at that point.
Various devices are employed for the purpose of securing
these advautagrs to the best ef-fect. These are usually double
pots, in one of whir4i water is placed. A good method is that
represented it) Fig. S(3, which shows a pot, b, plugged with
plaster of Paris at ihe bottom, placed inside a larger one. The
earth is placed between the two, drainage material occupying
the bottcjm, (I, aud fine soil the top, c. Water stands in the
inner pot as high as the dotted line, a.ud feeds uniformly into
the surrounding soil. The positions of the water and soil are
frequentA> reversed, but in that case there is less space avail-