98 Journal of Agriculture. [8 Feb., 1908. 



other vessels containing water; in this case the cuttings are tied in bunches 

 and susp>ended in the water. This is usually done by nurserymen who 

 have hot or cold houses for purposes of propagation. The cuttings should 

 be about six inches in length, taken from shoots of the current season's 

 growth and cleanly cut immediately below a joint from which the leaves 

 have been removed. They root readily if layered in early summer, and are 

 usually fit to remove and transplant in the following spring. Layers require 

 watering in dry weather. Splendens is the largest grower and most suit- 

 able as a specimen plant. The variegated form of this kind is a beautiful 

 specimen or border plant worthy of cultivation in any garden. Other 

 varieties of merit are : — Album plenum, luteum plenum, grandiflorum 

 plenum, Delphine, Madame Peyre, Madonna grandiflorum, Monsieur 

 Belaguier, }*ldlle Dubois, Madame Martin, Souvenir de Cazallis Allut, 

 Dr. Goldfire. 



Flo^wer Garden. 



February is one of the busiest months of the year in gardens where 

 florists' flowers are cultivated for exhibition or for a special display during 

 the autumn months. In order to produce maximum results, the dahlia, 

 rose, and chrysanthemum — the show flowers of the autumn — require careful 

 attention, in addition to the usual cleaning, watering, planting and sowing. 

 Shrubs that have finished their blooming should also be pruned. The chief 

 work in that direction is the removal of growths that have bloomed. In- 

 discriminate clipping of growths of all ages and stages is the principal 

 reason that \'arious shrubs fail to flower satisfactorily. The shoots re- 

 quire to be thinned and regulated in order that the wood may be ripened 

 by exposure, when flowers of good character may be expected. 



At this period dahlia plants produce the growths that carry the bloom 

 next month and should be watered sufficiently to keep them growing freely. 

 1 ying the growths to stakes as they develop and thinning out weakly 

 growths are necessarv for the production of good flowers. Fully half the 

 lateral shoots that occur should be removed in any case, and where exhibi- 

 tion blooms are desired the buds on the shoots allowed to remain should 

 also be reduced. During hot weather dahlias require more water than 

 any other florists' flower, as the evaporation of moisture is greater on 

 account of their large leaf surface. A good soaking weekly or fortnightly, 

 according to the season and nature of the soil, is suflScient. In light soils 

 deficient m humus the more frequent watering is necessary. A light 

 dressing or guano, blood manure or other rapid acting fertilizer is bene- 

 ficial when the flower buds are developing. 



The crown buds are produced on chrysanthemums during February. 

 The fine exhibition blooms seen at the shows are developed from these 

 buds. Xaturallv, the crown buds would fail to flower at all as the growth 

 buds that surround them would depri\e them of nourishment, but the 

 gardener removes the growth buds early and concentrates the entire energy 

 of the plant to the nutrition of the few flower buds remaining. In the 

 majority of varieties grown any flower buds that occur in the points of 

 the growing shoots after the middle of February usually produce excellent 

 blooms. The flower bud occupies the centre, and is rounded, the sur- 

 rounding buds, more pointed in form, being vegetative buds. The latter 

 should be removed as soon as the operation can be performed without 

 damaging the flower bud. When the buds are as large as peas weak liquid 

 manure may be applied, or a very light dressing of a complete fertilizer 



