THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 13 



wounds to heal, for when they are inserted at once the base is very- 

 liable to premature decay. After the wounds are nicely dried, the 

 cuttings may be placed in a well-drained pan filled with peaty soil, 

 but with an additional quantity of silver-sand, similar to that recom- 

 mended for established plants. Place the pans in a brisk bottom- 

 heat, keep the soil moderately moist, and they will soon strike and 

 be ready for potting off. Cuttings of the stem generally produce 

 several shoots, each of which can, if required, be taken off and 

 struck. Many cultivators keep and grow ou the old stools, but in 

 my estimation it is a very bad practice to do so, as they require 

 very careful management to induce them to break satisfactorily ; 

 indeed, in many cases the cuttings will make larger plants and much 

 sooner, besides being much handsomer. It is also very important 

 that the young plants are not, under any consideration, repotted 

 until the pots in which they are growing are well filled with roots. 



Thanks to the enterprise of our nurserymen and others, there 

 are a considerable number of sorts in cultivation, but, instead of 

 enumerating all, I will give the names of a few of the best. The best 

 four for exhibition are D. Feared, D. grandis, D. Baraquiniana, and 

 D. (jigantea. The best for table decoration are D. Weiri and D. 

 secjuinia picta. 



POTATOES. 



TTRIN"Gr the past few years the potato has obtained an 

 immense amount of attention, and a considerable 

 number of new and valuable varieties have been intro- 

 duced to cultivation. The interest in this useful escu- 

 lent has been so largely augmented that it has actually 

 become, in many hands, a fancy article, and collections of sorts are 

 made with as much care as the tulip and the dahlia have received. 

 Our own Stoke Newington collection attained to extravagant pro- 

 portions. In 1865 we exhibited sixty-six varieties at the Chrysan- 

 themum and Fruit Show held in the Guildhall of the City of London. 

 By the close of 1868 we had grown on our trial ground no less than 

 250 sorts. The multiplying of varieties, however, though of a 

 necessity a matter of profound interest to the potato fancier, is 

 not enough to sustain the enthusiasm which animates him in his 

 pursuit. The real interest, after all, arises out of considerations 

 which society must approve, because they tend to the improvement 

 of our resources and of our daily food. The fact is demonstrable 

 that after a certain number of years the varieties lose their original 

 vigour and constitution, and hence in order to keep the potato in 

 its place in the national dietary, new sorts raised from seed — that is 

 to say, from the potato plum or apple — must from time to time be 

 taken into cultivation, to replace those that are waning in character. 

 Now it is for the immediate welfare of mankind that new sorts 

 should be produced and tested constantly, and the production and 



