258 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[September, 



goes in foreign catalogues, where they love long 

 Latin names to garden varieties better than we do, 

 as Acer Japonicum polymorphum atropurpureum, 

 or sometimes atrosanguineum ; for we beheve there 



Acer polymorphum atropurpureum. 



is no material difference between the two. There 

 are other blood-leaved kinds, with cut and other 

 forms of leaves ; but this, the larger leaved, is one 

 of the showiest of the whole. Though Maples, 

 they are all shrubs of moderate growth, and not 

 trees. 



One of the regretful features of gardening is to 

 feel that the beautiful Geraniums, Coleus and other 

 plants that have given us so much pleasure and 

 enjoyment the whole summer, must be left in the 

 open ground for the frost to kill. But it is seldom 

 worth while trying to save any, unless we desire a 

 a few large plants for some special purpose, as 

 young ones do so much better every way. Sep- 

 tember is the great propagating month for young 

 bedding plants. 



The best way to propagate all the common 

 kinds of beddmg plants is, to take a frame or 

 hand-glass and set it on a bed of very sandy soil 

 made in a shady place in the open air. The sand 

 should be fine and sharp, and there is, perhaps, 

 nothing better than river sand for this purpose. 

 The glass may be whitewashed on the inside, so 

 as to afford additional security against injury from 

 the sun's rays. Into this bed of sand, cuttings of 

 half ripened wood for the desirable plants may be 

 set, and after putting in, slightly watered. Even 

 very rare plants often do better this way than 

 when under treatment in a regular propagating 



house. In making cuttings, it is best to cut the 

 shoots just under a bud, — they root better, and 

 are not so likely to rot off and decay. A cutting 

 ' of about three eyes is long enough for most strong 

 growing things, such as Geraniums, Fuchsias, &c. 

 Small growing things, of course, will take more 

 buds to the one cutting. From one to three inches 

 is, however, long enough for most cuttings. They 

 should be inserted about one-third of their way 

 under the sand, which latter should be pressed 

 firmly against the row of cuttings with a flat piece 

 of board, — not, however, hard enough to force the 

 particles of sand into the young and tender bark, 

 which is often the first step to decay. For a few 

 cuttings, they may be inserted with a dibble; but 

 where many are to be put in, it saves time to mark 

 a line on the sand with rule or straight edge, and 

 then cut down a face into the sand, say one or two 

 inches deep, when the cuttings can be set against 

 the face like box edging. All amateurs should 

 practice the art of propagating plants. There is 

 nothing connected with gardening more interesting. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



NOTE ON AZALEA MOLLIS, AND RHODO- 

 DENDRONS. 



3Y JOSEPH PERKINS. 



In a recent Monthly I noticed the Azalea mollis 

 referred to as not hardy. I have a bed of this 

 Azalea containingadozenplants which haveproved 

 for some half dozen years as hardy as any shrub on 

 my lawn. After our very unusually destructive win- 

 ter there was not a bud, flower or leaf, on this en- 

 tire bed that appeared injured by the winter. The 

 entire bed was wonderfully beautiful and attracted 

 great attention from all intelligent visitors. The 

 flowers are larger and the colors more delicate 

 than any other hardy Azalea I have seen. The 

 plants were obtained from Mr. Parsons, Flushing, 

 and they have never been the least injured by the 

 winter. 



I have a bed of Rhododendrons of all colors, 

 some fifty feet by fifteen, set some eight or ten 

 years, which have made a very vigorous growth 

 and are annually covered with their magnificent 

 flowers. 



Also a bed of Kalmias (angustifolia) nearly as 

 large, (three varieties,) which seem as much at 

 home as on their native mountain side. 



What gives these beds, to us, especial value and 

 interest is the fact that, in the smoke of our man- 

 ufacturing city none of the terebinthine evergreens 



