THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



175 



sliarp sand equal parts. If you cannot 

 get peat, use in place of it moss 

 chopped very small, or dry sandy 

 stuff shaken out of old pots. (By 

 the by, the stuff out of old pots 

 should always be kept in a bin. It 

 is invaluable, when sweetened, for 

 growing variegated plants and other 

 things which must be kept rather 

 poor, and it can always be improved 

 by adding a little fresh loam or rotted 

 turf.) Having put in the soil, water 

 plentifully, so that the water fills up 

 the pots or pans to the rim above the 

 soil. Now put in the cuttings, and 

 be careful that they all stand up 

 nicely with their leaves above the 

 water. Put them in a box or frame 

 in the full sun, and shut close. They 

 will want no more water, and they 

 will strike roots in about ten days, 

 and by that time they must have air 

 gradually, and, as soon as they begin 

 to grow with vigour, harden them for 

 a week and then pot them off. If 

 they are such things as verbenas, etc., 

 vrhich are to be kept in as small a 

 space as possible all winter, pot them 

 five or six together in fi^e-inch pots, 

 with one-third of the pots tilled 

 with drainage, and they will only 

 want to be kept safe from frost all 

 winter, and may either be potted and 

 put on dung heat, or may be left till 

 tiie end of April, and then be potted 

 and put in the bos to get a start by 

 the aid of sun-heat only. 



In remarking on the subjects that 

 may be struck in boxes, I have made 

 an exception in regard to geraniums. 

 These are best struck in the full sun 

 in an open border, and now is the 

 time to get up a stock for next year. 

 It is the delay in the propagating 

 that makes a mockery of the bedding 

 system in many places, where they 

 have not been worth looking at till 

 July. But save every old plant of 

 geraniums ; the older they are the 

 more hardy and the more abundant 

 the bloom. I fancy there are some 

 folks who think themselves clever in 

 gardening who would stare to see my 

 plants of Tom Thumb and Imperial 

 Crimson in 48-sized pots, wiih a 

 score of trusses all open at once, and 

 another score bristlmg up to meet 

 them, and this for months together ; 



the secret can be told in a word : 

 they are old plants that have never 

 been pruned. Every year, about the 

 end of April, they are shaken out of 

 their pots, all the soil removed from 

 the roots, which are slightly but not 

 severely cut in, and repotted in the 

 same pots in a firm compost, consist- 

 ing principally of loam from rotted 

 turf, a little dung rotted to powder, 

 and some grit obtained by sifting 

 the sweepings of the gravel walks. 

 Make a selection now of a dozen or 

 two, or half a dozen, of the best- 

 shaped Tom Thumb, Attraction, Im- 

 perial Crimson, Lord Palmerston, 

 Bijou, Queen of Queens, Dandy, 

 Christine, Lady Middleton, and Cot- 

 tage Maid, and treat them in this 

 way, and you will have geraniums 

 for your windows that will astonish 

 everybody except those who happen 

 to know how it is done. The knife 

 ought never to touch them. If a 

 shoot starts in such a way as to be 

 likely to spoil the symmetry of the 

 plants, nip it out with the thumb nail 

 before it gets hard, and if any one 

 takes the lead and threatens to grow 

 briskly, prick out the eye with the 

 point of a penknife or with a pin, and 

 it will presently throw out side shoots 

 and be as broad as it is long. 



A last word on propagating may 

 be useful. Take half ripe shoots of 

 roses, cut them into lengths of about 

 four joints each, with a joint at the 

 base, and the leaf removed from that 

 joint. Select the youngest shoots 

 of verbenas, petunias, and fuchsias ; 

 those not showing bloom will be the 

 best ; of these, cuttings with three 

 joints and a joint at the base are the 

 best. Any sort of cuttings will do 

 of geraniums, but nearly ripe short 

 cuttings are best ; and, if it is desired 

 to multiply any kind as extensively 

 as possible, one joint, with the leaf 

 and bud attached, and a slice of the 

 stem, will suffice, so that every sepa- 

 rate bud will make a plant. When 

 cut so small, it will be best to place 

 them in pans in sand, and put them 

 in a box or frame, and shade, keeping 

 them only moderately moist. The 

 same with roses : when struck from 

 eyes, each separate eye must have 

 the leaf with it, and the eyes must 



