THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



93 



wet, never let them be exposed to a burning sun, but treat them as 

 nearly as possible as hardy plants, and let them enjoy all the summer 

 sunshine and fresh breezes as you would the hardiest alpines, and house 

 them for the winter early in the month of October. 



Propagation. — Cuttings strike very slowly but surely, as with 

 proper treatmeot not one in fifty need be lost. Cuttings, if made short, 

 and of the extreme ends of half-ripe branches, will strike at any season, 

 but the only safe season for beginners is the spring. The points of 

 shoots should be removed for the purpose, and should be only an inch 

 or an inch and a-half long. These cuttings, divested of their lowest 

 leaves, are to be potted in pure silver sand. Cover the cuttings with 

 bell-glasses, and place the pans in a cold pit, which is preferable to 

 placing them on bottom-heat. When they have struck root, which may 

 be known by the fresh growth of the points of the cuttings, pot in small 

 pots, using sandy peat and placing them in a frame or pit, and as soon 

 as they have again begun to grow, again remove them to the green- 

 house, and there treat them as we have above directed for old plants. 



It is of the utmost importance that the pots containing epacrises 

 should be well drained, and in potting extra care must be taken to pack 

 the crocks so that there will be no fear of the soil washing down and 

 stopping the drainage, for a water-logged condition will soon prove fatal 

 to them. The soil should never be sifted, but broken with the hand to 

 the size of walnuts, and with all the dust and grit added in filling in. 

 In case of compulsory neglect in regard to potting, they may be shifted 

 when taken into the greenhouse for the winter, but it is greatly prefer- 

 able to repot them before turning out in summer. Take care in potting 

 to merely loosen the roots with the hand so as to remove a little of the 

 old soil without distressing the roots, but never cut the roots with a 

 knife except in some extreme case, and then cautiously. 



THE PLUNGING SYSTEM. 



No. I. 



Pob three seasons I have been inte- 

 rested and occupied in a system of 

 garden decoration, to describe which 

 I can find no better term than " the 

 plunging system." Possessors of my 

 " Town Garden" will understand, by 

 reference to the frontispiece, which 

 represents the forecourt of my resi- 

 dence at Stoke Newington, how ad- 

 mirably adapted to such a place, and 

 to all such places, this system is, if I 

 add that the sole purport of the sys- 

 tem is to produce a beautiful scene at 

 any and every seas »n. I think I may 

 venture to say that I have brought 

 the plunging system to perfection, 

 and 1 have deferred mentioning it in 



these pages till now, expressly that I 

 might be able at last to deal with the 

 subject fully, tnid with a practical 

 knowledge of all its difficulties and 

 possibilities, all its ups and downs and 

 ins and outs, and all the cautions ne- 

 cessary to be observed by those who 

 intend to take to it. It is usually 

 necessary to prove the propriety of a 

 proceeding — especially if it be a new 

 proceeding — before attempting to de- 

 scribe it ; and to conply with this 

 common necessity, I take the liberty 

 of asking you to look at your own 

 gardens and forecourts on this pre- 

 sent 1st of May, when, according to 

 the season, you ought to be sur- 



