1340 Rural School Leaflet 



It is always well to root some cuttings in the schoolroom, so that the 

 pupils may see iiow new roots develop on plants. Besides the tradescan- 

 tia mentioned, geranium, coleus, heliotrope, salvia, petunia, and other 

 garden flowers may be easily propagated by cuttings. Before frost has 

 injured the parent plants, terminal shoots should be cut about two and 

 one-half inches from the end. A smooth cut should be made with a sharp 

 knife straight across the shoot. If made just where a leaf is attached to 

 the stem (node), the cutting will generally root better. Most of the 

 side leaves should be carefully removed to reduce the leaf surface; only 

 about two leaves shoidd be left at the top. If the leaves are large, it may 

 be necessary to clip the edges. The cuttings should then be put into a 

 bottle of water, and roots will usually develop. 



A better and surer method of i:ooting cuttings for the window box is 

 to plug up the hole in the bottom of a seven-inch pot and fill it with sand. 

 A four-inch pot with the hole in the bottom tightly scaled, should be 

 inserted in the sand contained in the seven-inch pot. The four-inch pot 

 should then be filled with water; enough moisture will percolate through 

 this porous pot to keep the sand in the seven-inch pot constantly saturated. 

 The cuttings should be inserted in the sand around the inside of the seven- 

 inch pot, and should be shaded for a few days and then put into full sun- 

 light. When roots about one-half inch in length have formed, the cuttings 

 may be placed in the window box. The top of the rooted cutting should 

 then be pinched out in order to cause the cutting to branch and make a 

 stocky plant. 



If established plants of abutilons, ageratum, begonias, petunias. Aspar- 

 agus sprengerii, salvia, or vincas, can be obtained in the fall, the window 

 boxes will become attractive more quickly. However, the joy of growing 

 the plants from the start will be lost. 



Attractive window boxes for north windows are a more difficult problem. 

 Foliage plants must be largely adopted, for few flowering plants are shade 

 enduring. Nearly all kinds of ferns are excellent, and if such plants as 

 tradescantia, the imibrella pabn {Cyperus alternij alius), the aspidistra, 

 rex begonias, and the various forms of asparagus are available, the suc- 

 cess of the shady window box is assured. 



The window garden need not be given up, however, even if the plants 

 mentioned are not available. As has been before stated, the children 

 should be taught the beauty of the native material. During the last 

 winter, a student at Cornell has been testing the adaptation of native 

 plants to growing indoors. His investigations have proved that such 

 flowering plants as spring beauty {Claytonia caroliniana) , marsh marigold 

 (Caltha pahistris), liverleaf (Hepatica triloba), columbine {Aquilegia 

 canadensis), sho^^'y lady's-slipper (Cypripedium spectabile), yellow lady's- 



