FOREIGN NOTICES. 



doorways and openings in walls seemed extremely pretty. Tii particular I may notice a wall 

 about ten feet high, having a number of open compartments filled with porcelain rods made to 

 imitate the stems of the Bamboo. I shall now close this notice with the modest lines of the 

 Chinese poet, which we found written in the " Library of Verdant Purit}^" and whlcli seemed to 

 be an effort to describe the nature of the garden : 



' Some few stems of Bamboo plants, 

 A cottage growing round; 

 A few flowers here — some old trees there, 

 And a mow of garden ground." 



— li. K, in London Gardener^ Chronicle, 



Taking up and Storing Dahlias. — In a treatise on this flower, recently publi:-lied by Groom- 

 bridge, the cutting down is recommended " not to be performed until the first frosts have com- 

 pletely checked vegetation. For choice, good varieties, it is an excellent plan,"' says the authority, 

 "to place a small hillock of dry ashes round the stem of each plant. This protects the embryo 

 buds both from any sudden severe frosts, and also carries oft' to a distance the heavy autumnal 

 rains. In wet gi'ounds especially, this is a good and usefid application, though in high dry 

 land it may not be absolutely necessary. Choose some dry morning, when there is a probability 

 of a dry following day, and cut down the plants within one foot of the ground. The day following 

 take up all the roots so cut down, and turn them upward to allow the watery sap to drain from 

 the stems. Bring them in under cover, and see that the numbers or naifies are all securely tied 

 to the stems with copper wire. Mat or twine is not good for this purpose, because it will soon rot, 

 and the name may easily be displaced or lost — a matter of consequence to such as wish to keep 

 their plants true to name. The roots should all be taken up on the same or the following day, in 

 order to become all dry together, so that they may be put away for the winter at once. Let all 

 the soil be carefully picked out from among the tubers without wounding them. As soon as they 

 are quite dry, and before they begin to shrivel, fix upon a place to store them away. A dry 

 cellar is best, because there is, in such a place, just sufficient moisture to keep the tubers fresh 

 without shriveling, and the buds alive. Pack them with their stems downward, and cover them 

 up with dry clean straw, several inches thick, a layer of roots and a layer of straw between and 

 imder each layer of roots. In these winter quarters they may remain till the season for starting 

 them into growth returns. They should be looked over about once a month, and all decaying 

 roots and rotting stems removed, and fresh dry straw laid upon them to absorb any moisture ; 

 this is the best method of keeping Dahlia ground-roots. Pot-roots should have their tops cut off, 

 and the pots laid on their side in a place where the frost can not have access to them. If the 

 amateur has a gi-een-house, these pot-roots can be conveniently stored away under the stages, laid 

 on one side: no water that may run through the stage from the plants will injure them. Pot- 

 roots keep better than ground-roots, and therefore it is desirable to have a few of each variety 

 struck later for this purpose. If the amateur has no cellar for his ground-roots, nor a green-house 

 for his pot-roots, he may store the former away in boxes, in a dry chamber, or in any out-building, 

 provided the frost can be kept from them by some kind of covering, such as old carpets or garden 

 mats. In such places they will require more frequent looking over, to remove all decaying roots 

 and stems. — London Gardenem' Chronicle. 



Culture of the Pelargonium. — I strike my cuttings, which are obtained as soon as the wood is 

 thoroughly ripe, under hand-glasses in the open ground, watering them very slightly for a week 

 or two, but exposing them to dews at night. "When they are well rooted, they are lifted and 

 potted in turfy loam, two year old cow dung, some peat and silver sand, all well mixed together, 

 and placed on an efficient drainage. The plants are then set in a cold frame, and kej^t close in 

 the day-time, till they have become established ; but they are left open at night. Ultimately the 

 lights are off during both day and night, and, as soon as they will bear it, they are placed on 

 boards, exposed to .ill weathers, until the long, cold, late autumn nights cause them to be placed 

 in-doors. The main point in their out-door treatment is, never to allow them to get water-logged 



