Damping off

Damping off, in Horticulture, the death of plants from excess of moisture in the soil and atmosphere. Young seedlings in stoves and hotbeds are particularly liable to it. Although the cause is sufficiently obvious, prevention is not always easy; not only because some plants are very sensitive as to moisture, but also because the necessity of keeping sashes closed on account of temperature often stands in the way of the ventilation which would otherwise be desirable, and it is when a moist atmosphere stagnates around them, and the temperature is not very low, that plants are most liable to damp off.