THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



95 



least once a month, to hasten the rotting of 

 the pulp. At the close of the winter follow- 

 ing their committal to the rot-heap, sift 

 |the whole over, to separate the seeds, and 

 sow in February on a bed of rich light soil. 

 Young hollies are, however, rather tender; 

 the sun tries them, and morning frosts 

 sometimes kill them down, and it is, there 

 fore, better to sow on a bed made up in a 

 cold pit or frame where the young plants 

 can have better nursing than in the open 

 air. In the Gardener's Kalendar of Philip 

 Miller, he says — '• Many people dig a trench 

 in the ground about a foot deep, and lay 

 the haws, hips, and holly berries therein, 

 covering them over witli earth pretty thick, 

 and letting them remain one year ; then 

 they take them out and sow them in beds 



the following October, and the plants will 

 come up the spring after." 



The objection to Miller's plan is that 

 the seeds take too much room during the 

 slow process of rotting the pulp, and a hole 

 in a bye corner is a neater as well as a 

 more economic method. Dig the hole 

 three feet deep, and then mix the berries 

 with fine soil, and throw them in. Fill in 

 with the stuff taken out of the hole, and 

 over it make a bank of leaves the fol- 

 lowing autumn to prevent the access of 

 frost to the berries. In sowing rose hips, I 

 have saved the trouble and delay of the 

 rotting process by shelling out the seeds by 

 hand, and it is a job that a garden boy Aviil 

 do as well as any one else, at odd times 

 ■when his head might get full of mischief i 



through his hands being idle. I should 

 think a similar process could be adopted 

 with hoUj" berries, so as to sow them im- 

 mediately after gathering, when a greater 

 proportion would come up than when the 

 seeds are rotted out. 



DONNINGTONEKSIS. 



As they are not to be moved for a year, 

 the seeds should be sown thin, and in re- 

 gular rows across the bed. Keep them free 

 from weeds all the summer by hand-weed- 

 ing ; give water frequently, but never in 

 large quantities ; shade from mid-day sun 

 from the end of May to the middle of 



August, then let them be fully exposed to 

 be hardened for the winter. 



GRAFTS AND CUTTINGS.) 



The choice kinds are generally grafted 

 on strong seedling stocks, and the month 

 of March is the best time for the operation, 



