THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



winter this mixture decays and is ready to feed the young roots 

 as soon as they start to grow. Bone meal gives the plants a 

 good constitution, strong stems and blooms that do not wilt 

 as soon as cut. 



Choose varieties during the blooming season. See the flow- 

 ers on the plants if possible, or next best, on long stems in their 

 vases. Never pick out a type displayed on a short stem stuck 

 in a bottle, as is too often seen at our shows. It is impossible 

 to recognize the habit of the plant thus displayed. A beauti- 

 ful bloom mav have coarse foliage, or a pendulous habit or be 

 a crotch bloomer; and so quite useless either in the garden or 

 for home decoration. Insist on buying tubers if possible 

 "Green plants" made from cuttings are just as good if properly 

 done; but our commercial growers are often tempted to over- 

 propagate a rare variety, with disastrous results. 



The average amateur, and often an otherwise clever gardener, 

 will sometimes plant intact the whole clump saved from the 

 year before. This is a serious mistake, and causes more dis- 

 appointments than any other. Each tuber should be separated 

 from its neighbor with an "eye" attached. This eye is located 

 on the old stalk — ^sometimes on the stem itself. It is not easy 

 to cut them apart, and great care should be taken not to break 

 or strain the neck which connects the tuber with the eye. If 

 this happens, the eye will not develop. The best instrument 

 for the purpose is a cheap pointed vegetable knife, such as can 

 be bought at a 'Hen cent store." The blade is thin and just 

 flexible enough to work between the sometimes crowded tubers. 

 Incisions may be made around the eye connected with the most 

 convenient tuber, and the whol^ soon lifted out. After the first 

 one is taken, the rest are easier to handle. 



If the clump has but few tubers, and many plants are wanted 

 for the garden, it is a simple matter to propagate by cuttings. 

 In February or March, according to the type (some being slower 

 to start growth than others), the whole clump may be placed 

 in a box, just covered with soil, and placed in a hot bed, green 

 house, or even a sunny window. When a sprout has made 

 three sets of leaves, cut it off just below the second joint and 

 trim ofi" the lower leaves of this cutting. If the leaves seem 



391 



