180 



^RE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN dHJIDiJ. 



wliitc blotches, and otliers of a silvery I coai'se growing kind, the spots of which 

 tinge. G. hoe.iiiitosngnia is a Lirge and are not- very well defined. 



SEEDLING EHUBAEB. 



As the Rliubarb is a plant which produces 

 seed very freely, ahnost the whole of whicli 

 will germinate, it is impossible, with the 

 largest spiice of ground, to have the whole 

 of them planted out so as to put the qualities 

 of the seedlings to the test. As the readiest 

 way of ascertaining which of them are 

 most likely to repay the trouble of cultivat- 

 ing, I have found it an excellent plan to 

 sow the seed in pots as gathered. These 

 being kept iinder cover during the winter 

 months, not so much as a protection to tlie 

 plants as for the sake of preventing the pots 

 irom being injured by the frost, the young 

 plants will be found to vegetate very early 

 in the spring; showing from the first a dif- 

 ference of character, not only as to pre- 

 cocity, but in other respects also, as to 

 growth and habit. Even at this time, thetc- 

 Ibre, some may be selected as the subject 

 of experiment, and planted out ; but the 

 preferable plan, I think, is to allow the 

 whole to remain in the seed-pots till the 

 end of the season, Avhen the difference of 

 ch:irnjfter is more decidedly marked. Those 

 of the earliest and strongest habit will then 

 have gained greatly on the others in point 

 of size, and will otherwise show the qualities 

 which should determine the selection as to 

 wlilch are most likely to reward tlie cul- 

 tivator by turning out a new and valuable 

 variety. The qualities in question I hold 

 to be, chiefly, a stalk that is thick, succu- 

 lent, and a red colour; and a leaf that is 

 round in shape, smooth on the surface, and 

 a flesliA' texture. 



In this way, the plants which make the 

 best promise may be selected; but my re- 

 marks as to the subsequent treatment apply 

 equally, if not more, to the best of the 

 varieties already in cultivation. The mode 

 wliich I pursue is this: — Having chosen 



ground with a warm aspect, I have the soil 

 dug out down to the subsoil which, in the 

 instance now referred to, is chalk at no 

 great depth, say from eighteen inches to 

 two feet. The space so dug oiTt is about 

 two feet in diameter. Of the earth dug- 

 out, I reject the lower and poorer portion, 

 mixing the rest with leaf-mould, and with 

 fresh soil of as good a quality as I can pro- 

 cure. The soil thus improved I further 

 enrich with guano, sujierphosphate of lime, 

 soot, and bone-dust; all, or as many of 

 them as I can at one time command, not 

 forgetting some well-made stable-manure. 

 The whole of these being thoroughly incor- 

 porated with the soil, I place at tlie bottom 

 of the hole, above the subsoil, a layer of 

 bones of a considerable size, over which is 

 put some of the mixture to the depth of six 

 inches, then a few more bones with more 

 e.'irth, alternately, till the hole is not only 

 filled up, but there is a liiilock, say of a 

 foot and a-half above the level of the 

 ground. In the centre of this I make an 

 opening and fill up with leaf-mould, or any 

 other good unmixed earth, for the reception 

 of the plant, in order that the I'oots may 

 not touch the richer soil until they are in 

 a growing state, before which they might 

 be injured by the strength of the manure. 



As a proof how well this has answered 

 with myself, I may state that soon after 

 the Prince Albert was introduced, now I 

 should imagine at least twelve or fourteen 

 years ago, I had three small plants of it, 

 which I treated in the manner here recom- 

 mended. Though put in at a distance of 

 six feet from each other, they now appear 

 like one large plant, the heads being joined 

 together, and tlie crowns of the roots ap- 

 proaching very near. — Bev. C. Mackie, -in 

 Horticultural SocieU/'n Prnceedinf/s. 



HINTS ON PEOPAGATION. 



It has loflg been customary with gar- 

 deners, previous to planting cuttings of a 

 succulent nature, to leave them, for a time, 

 in a drv shaded situation, in order that 

 the superabundant sap may be evaporated, 

 and the wounds a little healed over. On 

 the other hand, tb.e practice, as is some- 

 times done, of putting vine eyesun a damp, 

 shady place, is an excellent preparatory 

 process in the propagations of things of 



sterner stufl^. But a cutting of a medium 

 texture — a rose cutting for instance — can 

 withstand neither of those modes of treat- 

 ment j it will quickly shrivel in the one 

 case, or blacken and die in the other. 

 Clearly, then, in order to obtain that great 

 desideratum — the development of the cal- 

 lus, recourse must be had to at least i\\reQ 

 difl'erent modes of procedure, according to 

 the nature of the subject under treatment. 



