THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 249 



shift in potting them singly, if you require it, or otherwise you can 

 let them remain till the period of planting, and they will scarcely 

 receive a check if you divide the ball in three parts with a 

 knife. 



Some sorts of Yerbenas strike better from the young shoots 

 produced by being grown in heat in the spring, such as Purple 

 King. As this variety is very liable to become a prey during the 

 dry autumn months to thrip, observation will teach you which are 

 the kinds that will not succeed in being propagated readily in the 

 autumn. The plan is then to pot off singly in the spring as many 

 as you may want for obtaining cuttings for the following spring, 

 and keep them in a shady part of the garden. Shift and stop, and 

 so preserve a thrifty state o^' growth. 



Variegated Alyssum, all kinds of Tropaeoliims, and other similar 

 bedding-plants, strike freely in a cold frame, if put in at the same 

 time as the Yerbenas, and treated accordingly ; and withstand damp 

 and other diseases to which they are subject better than the late 

 propagated plants. "When the work of propagating Yerbenas, etc., 

 is completed, commence with the variegated Geraniums, selecting for 

 the purpose a sheltered border of good friable soil. jS^othing is 

 more vexing to a gardener than to have to cut his plants while in 

 bloom. The best way to proceed is to obtain cuttings from the 

 beds every alternate fortnight, from the middle of July till the 

 latter part of August; the first two batches we strike in the border; 

 the others are put — say about twelve or fifteen cuttings — in a 

 32-size pot, well crocked, as we allow them to remain all the winter 

 in these pots before they are potted singly. Do not crowd the pots 

 together, as the shoots when they commence growing get weak 

 and soft, which causes them to turn black and decay during the 

 winter. Just above the surface of the soil remove all withered 

 leaves from the cuttings, both in the border and in the pots. When 

 the former are rooted pot them singly into 60-sizepots; these, by 

 judicious stopping, will make nice bushy plants by the spring. 



In reference to Calceolaria cuttings turning black, it is seldom 

 that this happens generally, unless the plants, previous to obtaining 

 them, have been exposed to frost. Nothing is easier to propagate 

 than bedding Calceolarias, and the middle of September is quite 

 soon enough for the purpose, as they root freely either in pots or 

 in a cool frame, if kept free from insects, damp, and frost, though 

 some weeks may elapse before they are properly rooted. There are 

 no months in the year when so much attention is required in the 

 preservation of bedding and other soft-wooded plants as November 

 and December. Pire-heat should be used, if the weather is foggy 

 and wet, at least under all circumstances once a week, and es- 

 pecially after watering ; the fire should be lighted in the morning, 

 and allowed to go out early in the evening. Give plenty of air 

 daring the day, unless the weather is frosty. 



