THE GREENHOUSE.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 80, 1 October 1904, Page 12

THE GREENHOUSE.

Seedling Primulas should be ready to be pricked off by now. The soil used should be composed of loam and leafmould in about equal proportions, and plenty of sand. Prick out tne seedlings about 2in apart in boxes filled nearly to the brim ; some old dry manure is a suitable material to place in the bottom of the boxes as drainage, and the plants will root into it as they gain strength and size. It is important that boxes for seedlings of small size such as these should be filled with soil, so that they get plenty of light and air to keep them sturdy; if the are much below tke rim of the box they get drawn and never make good plants. They do not require, nor do they like a great body of soil, therefore boxes 3in deep will be suitable. Begonia seedlings should also be ready to be pricked oft in soil similai to the above, and in boxes of the same depth. By using despatch in all stages of growth Begonias can be made to flower well the same season as they are sown, otherwise there is a tedious wait till next year. For this reason they should be pricked off while very small, and to do it requires very deft fingers, besides the proper mode of procedure. Provide two small sticks about the length and thickness of a cedar* lead pencil, bring one to a long rather Wunt point, and the other to a wedge point. Loosen some of the seedlings, take the wedge-pointed stick in the left hand and dip it in water kept handy on the bench, touch the top of a little plant with the wet end, and it can be lifted, as it will stick lightly to the moisture; prepare a tiny hole with the other stick, carry the plant over it, and dislodge it with the pointed stick, and with the same press a little soil around the roots. W*hen the box is full give a good watering through a fine rose to settle them in. ■«