40 THE FLORIST. 



THE LADIES' PAGE. 



Where the modern system of planting flowers in masses of distinct 

 colours is practised, it is presumed that the particular kind intended 

 to occupy each bed was determined upon in autumn, and that due 

 provision was then made by taking up and potting, and by putting 

 in cuttings of the various plants wanted for that purpose : if, how- 

 ever, this important business was neglected at the proper period, the 

 oversight must be remedied, so far as possible, by putting in during 

 the present month all the cuttings that can be obtained of the re- 

 quired plants. For this purpose artificial warmth is indispensable ; 

 and if the garden establishment does not afford a heated pit which 

 can be applied to this use only, it will be advisable to construct a 

 hot-bed, to be employed solely for propagating ; which will be found 

 more convenient and in every way preferable to the common prac- 

 tice of encumbering the early cucumber or melon frame with pots of 

 cuttings. A very simple affair is the making of this hot- bed, which 

 might, if necessary, be composed wholly of the tree- leaves swept off 

 the lawn or the garden-walks three months ago ; only a larger body 

 of material will be requisite than if the bed is partly made of stable- 

 litter. A thickness of three feet, after being well consolidated by 

 treading, will afford a gentle heat for some time ; but if a small (or 

 one light) frame is intended for the reception of the cuttings, the 

 bed must be made to extend from two to three feet beyond each side 

 of the frame, otherwise the quantity of leaves will be insufficient to 

 maintain the requisite temperature in cold windy weather. If such 

 should prove to be the case under the present arrangement, the frame 

 can easily be encased all round with leaves, building them up nearly 

 to the level of the top, and covering them with long litter, to prevent 

 them blowing about. Set the frame on the middle of the bed, keep 

 the light close, and fermentation will soon commence in the leaves, 

 when, after spreading three or four inches of fine coal- ashes over the 

 bed within the frame, it will be ready to receive the cuttings. 



The propagation of the plants now under consideration demands 

 more attention than skill. Well- drained pots of any convenient 

 size, three parts filled with light soil and the remainder with sand, 

 or a mixture of sifted leaf- mould and sand, must be prepared to re- 

 ceive the cuttings, which when taken off need not be more than two 

 inches long for Verbenas and other short-jointed plants. Remove 

 the lower leaves from the cuttings, cut them off smoothly close below 

 a joint, and insert them firmly but not deeply in the sand ; then give 

 a sprinkling of water, and set the pots in the frame. The after- 

 management is comprised in ^vatering moderately whenever the sur- 

 face of the sand feels dry and loose, and in guarding against damp, 

 by admitting a little air at favourable opportunities, and taking the 

 light quite off for half an hour occasionally on fine days. In a tem- 

 perature ranging from 65 to 70 degrees, cuttings of Petunia, Verbena, 

 Heliotrope, and of other similar things that are popular for bedding, 

 will become rooted plants fit for potting singly in from three to four 



