IRISH GARDENING. 



69 



greenhouse. Shade from the sun must be provitled, 

 and the soil in both pots be kept well supplied with 

 water. In about six weeks i-oots will have been emitted 

 from the cut in the stem, and the upper portion be a 

 separate plant, which may be i^'"idually removed from 

 the legfg^y stem in the follouint^ manner : — First cut 

 partly througfh the stem immediately under the split pot, 

 and watch what effect this has upon the dwarfed plant. 

 If the leaves flag-and droop 

 it can betaken for granted 

 that the newly formed 

 roots are not yet strong 

 enough to support the 

 plant, and nothing further 

 should be done until a 

 week or so after all signs 

 of flagging have disap- 

 peared, but if the incision 

 made in the stem has no 

 effect upon the leaves the 

 cut should be deepened a 

 little every two days until 

 the dwarfed plant is en- 

 tirely severed from the 

 leggy stem, when it must 

 be placed in a shady posi- 

 tion in the greenhouse for 

 a fortnight and be fre- 

 quently syringed, after 

 which it should be re- 

 potted into a larger pot, 

 and be treated as an 

 established plant. An- 

 other method of stem- 

 rooting indiarubber plants 

 is shown in Figs. 3 and 5, 

 the stem being cut and 

 tongued as before, but 

 instead of a split pot a 

 ball of moss is bound 

 round the stem. Keep 

 the moss well moistened, 

 and as soon as roots 

 show through the dwarfed 

 plant may be severed from 

 the main stem in the man- 

 ner previously described. 

 As before mentioned, 

 tall, unsightly indiarubber 

 plants can be utilised 

 for propagating purposes, 

 spring being the best time 

 to insert the cuttings. The 

 top of the plant should be 

 cut off and prepared by 

 cutting the stem across 

 immediately below a leaf 

 joint, as in F"ig. 6, and the 

 leafy portion of the stem 

 be cut into lengths of 

 about two inches, so 

 that each has a bud and 

 leaf attached, as shown 



in Fig. 7. Sandy compost should be used, and each 

 cutting be inserted in a small pot, as shown in 

 Figs. 8 and g, care being taken to place a little 

 sand round the base of each, as shown. Tie each 

 cutting to a stake, and plunge in a propagating frame 

 or under a handlight, and keep moist and warm. 



H. C. R. 



[Note. —It will be evident to most gardeners that the above method 

 of " stem-rooting " is a modification of the ordinary process of layer 

 ing. By making an incision in the stem the downward passageof the 

 nutritive sap is arrested, so that a quantity of rich available food 

 accumulates above the wound. This, together with the presence 

 of a damp surrounding medium, induces the formation of roots — 

 Eu I. G.l. 



After-treatment of Bulbs in Bowls. 



The treatment oi' bulbs after they have flowered in 

 bowls is more important than is often thought, not 

 only for those grown in bowls, but also for those in 

 pots, always supposing; that these bulbs will be required 

 for use at some future period. Bulbs from bowls, 

 whether grown in sand, saw-dust, gravel, or any 



Illustrations showing successive stages in 



'stem-rooting" ths Inliarubber plant (1-5) and propagation 

 by cuttings (6-9). 



other material, should be taken out as soon as the 

 flowers have faded, and planted in a shady border, 

 where they should be allowed to remain until the 

 following summer year, when the}' can be lifted and 

 used again. It does not in the least matter if the saw- 

 dust adheres to the bulbs, as this will pass away 

 when it comes in contact with the moisture of the 

 soil. This treatment should always be adopted, as the 

 bulbs have exhausted all the store of food laid by in the 

 good firm bulb which was originally planted, and they 

 have not been able to get an)- nourishment in retinn from 

 the gravel or other material in which they were 

 gfrowing. K. M. P. 



