1877. J 



AND BORTICULTURIST. 



233 



" I should be glad to see a practical article in 

 your excellent joiirnal on the propagation of 

 such evergreens as Arborvitses, Junipers, Retin- 

 osporas, &c., by soft wood cuttings, time the 

 cuttings should be made, the degree of heat to 

 be used, and the amount of air and sun's rays, 

 each to be treated. Also treatment for the first 

 year." 



[Where but a few hundred each are required, 

 the cutj^gs may be put into shallow boxes of 

 <^and in September, October, or November, and 

 kept through the Winter in a greenhouse, or 

 similar place where a temperature of about 65° 



is maintained. They will be rooted sufficiently 

 to plant out under a slight shade the next Spring. 

 If put in later, or kept under a lower tempera- 

 ture, they root more slowly, and the boxes of 

 cuttings are best left undisturbed for a year. On 

 a larger scale, the cuttings are put directly in 

 sand on the tables, instead of in boxes. — Ed. 

 G. M.] 



Plant in an Ant Hill. — A. L. S., Utah, asks, 

 but we cannot tell, " Why is it that CEnothera 

 cespitosa will grow luxuriantly around and on 

 ant hills, while every other kind of vegetation is 

 killed out for many feet from the hill ?" 



^REEN MOUSE AND M OUSE GARDENING 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



It is yet too soon to think much about house- 

 plants, which are still in pots in the open air, 

 or growing in the open ground, preparatory to 

 being plated next month. But it is well, if the 

 pots are standing on the earth, to lift the pots 

 once in awhile, or twist them round, so as to 

 check the roots which may be running through 

 the bottoms of the pots. Early flowering things 

 not yet potted, such as Violets and Primroses, 

 may be put at once in pots, so as to be well es- 

 tablished before housing time comes. 



Seeds of many things may also be sown for 

 winter and spring blooming.particularly Cinera- 

 ria, Calceolaria, Pansy, Daisy, Chinese Primrose, 

 and some of the annuals. Great care is neces- 

 sary with the Calceolaria. The seed is so small, 

 that it rebels at the smallest covering of soil. 

 The best way is to sow it on the surface, water 

 well, and then cover with a pane of glass until 

 fairly germinated ; this will prevent evaporation 

 and consequent drying of the seed. Almost all 

 kind of seeds germinate most readily in partial 

 shade: but as soon as possible after germination, 

 they should be inured to as much light as they 

 will bear. 



Preparations must now be made with a view 

 to stocking the houses for the next Winter and 

 Spring's use. Geraniums of all kinds may now 



be readily struck. A frame in a shady place, 

 set on some light sandy soil in the open air, 

 afl'ords one of the best places possible for striking 

 all kinds of half-ripened wood. A partial shade 

 is at all times best for cuttings at the start, though 

 the sooner they can be made to accustom them- 

 selves safely to the full light, the better they 

 usually do. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



CAMELLIAS IN COLD FRAMES. 



BY W. FALCONER. 



We have here a few single-flowered Camellias, 

 which on account of our crowd of tropical plants 

 are denied greenhouse space ; hence we winter 

 them in a deeply sunk cold frame, which has no 

 covering in Winter beyond single sashes and 

 single wooden shutters. These plants are not in 

 pots or tubs, but each one has amassed a ball of 

 roots. Late in April, or early in May, they are 

 planted out, and on the approach of Winter are 

 lifted and heeled in the frame. As might be ex- 

 pected, they live unscathed, but this year each 

 Camellia was as full of blooms as any specimen ■ 

 in Hovey's Conservatory, and too, these blooms 

 expanded fully, and were large and bright, and 

 at their best in early May. Not a bud dropped. 



