NoTemlwr 3, 1863. ] JOITRNAIi OF HOETICULTtTEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



347 



bute to a benefit society, when out of employment. A member 

 thus exempted from payment when unemployed would have 

 his contribution carried to his account, which he would be re- 

 quii-ed to pay — i.e., the arreajs as well as his regular contribu- 

 tion — on his obtaining full employment. It would be highly 

 mortifying to members to be discarded the Society because 

 misfortune hindered their being able to meet the contribu- 

 tion required by the Society. The Odd Fellows are acting 

 upon this principle during the prevalence of the cotton 

 famine, and are now relying on the accumulated funds of 

 the Society. 



I have only to add that I am one of those most likely to 

 derive great benefit from the establishment of such a Society. 

 There are some that have no apparent necessity to join 

 societies of this kind; but I would ask such, Are you prepared 

 to avow that you are not inclined to strive to alleviate the 

 suffering of yoitr fellow men ? "We rely on your aid, your 

 counsel, and good wishes for the fui-therance of the general 

 well-being of the infant Society, not only on account of the 

 great benefits to be derived from it by our unfortunate and 

 afflicted brethren, but to uphold the character of the craft, 

 and to bring out the philanthropic qualities which other men 

 abound in, and for which we have been too long undis- 

 tinguished. Also, remember, we want those most unlikely 

 to need rehef to become benefit members ; but at the same 

 time honorary members will give such donations and sub- 

 scriptions as will place us on a sure foundation, and be the 

 means of our occupying the position we ought long ago to 

 have held. It cannot be expected that the Society to be estab- 

 lished wOl suit all ; but whatever it be, so long as it is the 

 decision of the majority, I pledge myself to act and abide by 

 that decision. — G. Abbey. 



WINTEEESTG GEEA^S'IUMS LM A SPAEE EOOM. 



The successftd wintering of Geraniums in a sitting-room 

 depends so much on the previous treatment to which they 

 have been subjected in propagating and managing them up 

 to the time that inclement weather renders it necessary to 

 house them, that we think it necessary, in answer to "An 

 Old Subsceibee," to enter somewhat into details on these 

 points, as well as on the treatment most likely to insure 

 success after they are placed in the room for the winter. 



It is taken for granted that the " Pelargoniums," from 

 the number of young plants which "Ajj Old Subsceibee" 

 is anxious to preserve, are not what are commonly called 

 Pelai'goniums, but the varieties of Geraniums now so much 

 used for planting-out in summer; but should we be mis- 

 taken in this matter, the treatment that is best for the one 

 section is very applicable to the other, as far as their suc- 

 cessful preservation in winter is concerned. 



Keeping in view the object in which our correspondent is 

 more immediately interested — namely, success in keeping her 

 plants robust and healthy through the winter, we wUl first 

 speak of the propagation of the plants, and in doing so we 

 would point out several errojs into which amateurs of 

 limited experience very generally fall. In the first place, 

 the operation of propagating is delayed till much too late in 

 the season, and then the cuttings selected are far too small ; 

 the tips of the shoots, about 3 or 4 inches long, being chosen. 

 Now the successful wintering depends to a very great 

 extent both on the size of the cuttings and on the time they 

 are put in. Under all circumstances, and more particularly 

 when they have to be wintered in spare rooms or any similar 

 place, the cuttings should be put in before the middle of 

 August ; and instead of taking the mere soft sappy points 

 of the shoots for cuttings, these should be taken sufficiently 

 large from the plants to have that portion of them, at least, 

 which is to be inserted in the soil of well-consolidated wood, 

 and altogether they should be from 6 to 9 inches in length, 

 according to the size of the respective sorts, instead of 

 three and four-inch cuttings, as commonly used. These 

 strong well-organised cuttings root more speedily and with 

 scarcely any failures, they give far less trouble in winter, 

 and in spring make Guei plants. So much for the nature 

 of the cuttings and the time of putting them in. 



To preserve them, after they are struck, with the greatest 

 possible success we recommend pots instead of wooden boxes. 

 Although we have wintered hundreds of thousands of cut- 



tings in boxes with great success, yet it has always been 

 most evident that those in pots were always in the best 

 condition in spring ; and for convenience in wintering them 

 in sitting-rooms pots are most desirable, and those known 

 as 24's or eight-inch pots are the most serviceable. But in 

 whatever vessels they are propagated these should be well 

 drained to begin with, and then filled up with a compost 

 consisting of equal proportions of loam, leaf mould, and 

 sand, and when these three constituents cannot be conve- 

 niently had, as not unfrequently happens, the nest best to 

 use are equal proportions of common light garden soil and 

 road drift, two elements which are easily obtained by most 

 people who attempt gardening. The cuttings should not ■ 

 be inserted thicker together than at the rate of twenty to 

 the square foot, and strong-growing sorts not so thickly. 

 There is nothing gained by the crowding system, especially 

 in the case of such as our correspondent, who wishes to 

 winter her plants successfully in a spare room, and who has 

 no glass house in which to push on in spring plants that 

 have been injured by being crowded in winter. Aft^er the 

 cuttings are all in, the best place to set them to root in is 

 the hottest possible spot out-doors — that is, where they can 

 get most sunshine, and be freely exposed to air. We never 

 find Geraniums struck under glass or anywhere else thrive 

 so well as those rooted out of doors — they axe so hardy and 

 stubby when hoixsed as compared to those struck under glass 

 or in room-windows. When the cuttings are made, all the 

 big leaves should be removed except a few at the top of the 

 cutting, and ever afterwards they should not be allowed 

 to become crowded vrith superabundant foliage. The air 

 should play freely through them, so that the young plants 

 may become soUdified and hardy. They should be left out- 

 doors tDl danger from frost or the heavy rains of autumn 

 render it necessary to protect them : and if this can be done 

 in some temporary way, so as to shield them from both rain 

 and frost, and at the same time expose them freely to all 

 sunshine and dry weather tiU near the end of October, it 

 wiU be preferable to putting them into a sitting-room, 

 unless the trouble be taken to put them out-doors every 

 fine day, which is better still if the labour would not be 

 too much. 



By carrying out the treatment indicated by the foregoing 

 directions the plants will be stiff rustling " stuff" that will 

 be much more proof against damping and mildew, the great 

 enemies of soft, flabby, coddled cuttings that are put in 

 late, and struck in some confined shaded position. A.fter 

 housing them for the winter, no more water should be given 

 than is necessary to keep them from flagging, and that will 

 be very little indeed. We often look with something akin 

 to pity on Geraniums which are struck late, and placed in 

 sitting-room windows with barely a root to them, to be 

 gorged with too much water — treatment which ends in a 

 lai-ge per-centage of death and a miserable remnant of 

 wretched-looking plants. On the shelves of our vineries we 

 winter thousands of Geraniums, and from the beginning of 

 November tUl February we seldom give them a single drop 

 of water, and if this is considered good treatment on the 

 shelf of a dry vinery fuUy exposed to all the sun and light 

 that such a position can afford, it will readily be inferred 

 that we recommend them to be kept very dry at the root, 

 more particularly when they are to be wintered in a sitting- 

 room, always a dark place as compared with the shelf 

 of a vinery. It is much preferable to allow them to flag 

 a little than to aim at making them grow in such a position; 

 and by being kept dry at the root they multiply their feeders 

 and acquire an amount of irritability which insures rapid 

 progress when repotted in spring. We, therefore, recommend 

 " An Old Stjbsceibee " to give just water enough to prevent 

 much flagging, and that wxU be very little indeed. 



They should be looked over frequently, and all decaying 

 leaves removed, and when the weather is mild and not 

 foggy air should be admitted to the room. Unless they 

 become very dusty it will be best not to moisten the foliage 

 at all, as moisture is just one of the evils to be contended 

 against. The best way of cleaning the leaves is to take a 

 moderately moist sponge and wipe them with it.^ Gera- 

 niums in this hardy and dry condition will stand 2° or 3° of 

 frost without injury, but it is not advisable to subject them 

 to a lower temperature than 32°. At the same time they 

 will be all the better in spring if never warmer than 40° 



