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PEOPAGATION AND PRESERYATIOX OF BEDDIXG- 

 PLANTS. 



BY JOHN r. m'eleot. 



[X respect of the management of bedding-plants, we are 

 too prone to delay commencing propagation till the 

 autumn months are fast gaining on us. This does not 

 arise from indolence, but often from the many urgent 

 jobs that require doing at that particular season, such 

 as cropping, fruit gathering, and, withal, striving to maintain the 

 garden in good trim whilst the flowers are in their prime. Then, 

 again, we do not like to sacrifice any bloom while the beds are in 

 perfection. However, my experience from failures as well as suc- 

 cesses has taught me that as soon as we have finally completed our 

 bedding for the season we should think about selecting a spot and 

 preparing the same for cuttings. Por Verbenas I get a one or a 

 two-light box, in accordance with the quantity we may require ; this 

 is placed on a spent dung-bed, with the back against a wall or fence, 

 so as to be well shaded from the mid-day sun, leaning as the frame 

 should towards the north. I then spread on the surface, to a depth 

 of three or four inches, some light soil, sifting over the same a small 

 quantity of silver-sand. By the second week in July we obtain 

 from each variety as many short-jointed cuttings as we consider 

 requisite. These, after due preparation, are dibbed in the frame 

 rather thickly, leaving a margin betwixt each sort ; then, by the 

 aid of a fine rose fixed to the watering-pot, we sprinkle them so as 

 to cause the sand to firmly settle the soil. After this, we keep the 

 lights closed until we observe signs of rooting, unless it may be 

 to open them for a short time early in the morning in order that the 

 condensed moisture may escape. If July passes, and this work is 

 not done, we hurry to it in the very earliest days of August, knowing 

 that further delay will be dangerous. 



A little judgment is required to be exercised in shading, as we 

 must not exclude any more light than will prevent them from 

 drooping, or otherwise they will become weakly in their growth. 

 Look over them at intervals, and clear them of any foul or decayed 

 leaves, and if insects make their appearance fumigate with to- 

 bacco at once, as they suck away the sap which is necessary for 

 healthy growth, and by the loss of which cuttings will ultimately 

 dwindle away. When we perceive a general sign of rooting, we 

 occasionally syringe them gently on warm evenings, and afl'ord them 

 during the dny a moderate quantity of air. When we consider they 

 are sufficiently rooted, they are fully exposed, and we pinch oif their 

 tops ; and as soon as they begin to push out shoots from the re- 

 maining eyes we commence potting, putting three plants in a 

 60-8ize pot, which is very much better than crowding them in a 

 larger pot — that is, supposing you have room for shelving them 

 during the winter, as in the spring they will the better sustain the 



