July 15, 1869. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



13. 



Bheltered position for the winter. Tlie cuttings may be made 

 any time in summer, but July or August is the best time, as 

 then they become well rooted, aud may be planted-out before 

 winter. 'When summer propagation has been neglected, the 

 side shoots may be slipped ofi in March or April, the heel 

 pared smooth, the lowest leaves removed", the cuttings inserted 

 in sandy soil sint'-y in small pots, and placed in a hotbed. 

 Thus good plants may be obtained by May. 



Pyrethrums are increased by seed, and by division or slips. 

 By seed new varieties are obtained, and occasionally a few good 

 double flowers, but most of the seedlings are worthless, even 

 for shrubbery borders. Perhaps I may have purchased seed of 

 a poor strain, but I shall in future grow named sorts only, and 

 save my own seed. In sowing, proceed as follows : — Fill a pan 

 to within half an inch of the rim with two-thirds sandy loam, 

 and one-third leaf mould, and then to the rim with fine soil ; 

 make the surface smooth, scatter the seeds, and just cover 

 them with fine soil. Placo the pan in a frame where there is 

 a gentle heat, and in a few days the plants will appear ; keep 

 them near the glass, and harden them off by giving plenty of 

 air. After April it is sufficient to place the seed-pan under a 

 cold frame or hand-glass, or tho seeds may bs sown oat of doors, 

 but I prefer sowing in a pan, and placing it under a frame, so 

 as to have the seedJiags up soon. 



When the plants are large enough to handle — that is, when 

 they are from Ij inch to 2 inches high, prick them oat in a 

 bed in lines inches apart, and 3 inches plant from plant in 

 the row. The soil should be light, enriched with leaf mould, 

 well dug, and pulverised. Asunuy situstion ought to be chosen. 

 After planting shade, aud keep the plants duly supplied with 

 water until established. Thty will grow rapidly, and every 

 alternate plant in the lines should be transplanted info another 

 bed when they touch each other, well watering and shading 

 until they become e:tabIishod. They will have plenty of room 

 for the first year. In antnmn they may have a mulching, about 

 an inch thick, of leaf soil. When they begin to grow in spring, 

 every alternate plant and row should be taken out and planted 

 in a bed or border, and tho plants will then be 1 foot apart. 

 3?he old bed should be neatly pointed over. If the tops remain I 

 fresh nothing need bo done, bnt if they wither cut them off to 

 the live parts. Before autumn they will flower, and pull up 

 every one with a bloom not a half sphere, or as nearly as 

 possible of a Ranunculus form ; but it it is of a new colour 

 try to obtain well-formed flowers of the same tint. 



If there are varieties which it is desirable to increase, that 

 object may be effected by the division of the shoots which 

 spring from the roots, and which will have some fibres attached 

 to them. These, if put in a rhady place, or artificially shaded 

 and kept moist, will soon strike root ; but proprgation is more 

 rapid if they are placed in a cold frame, or in gentle best. 

 They strike as freely as Chrysanthemum suck'^rs. This mode 

 of propagation is best practised in spring when the shoots are 

 3 or 4 inches long, though it may be carried on at all times 

 when there are shoots — say from April to October out of doors, 

 bnt at other times the protection of a frame is necessary for 

 good rooting, and for speedy establishment a gentle hotbed of 

 65° or 70°. 



Cuttings should be made from the vigorous-growing shoots 

 only, which exhibit no symptoms of flowering, choosing such 

 as spring directly from the stem, and the nearer the roots the 

 better. When 3 or 4 inches long they are of the proper length. 

 Slip them from the stem by pressure downwards. The heel 

 should be pared smooth, and the leaves removed from one- 

 haU to two-thirds the length of the cutting, commencing from 

 the heel. They may be placed in a shady position out of doors, 

 in soil consisting of one-half light sandy soil, one-fourth leaf 

 mould, and one-fourth sand, covering the surface to the depth 

 of about half an inch with the latter material. Insert the 

 cuttings up to the leaves, and not too closely together ; if they 

 clear each other it is enough. Then giving a gentle watering, 

 cover with a hand-glass or frame, keep close and shaded from 

 bright sun until they begin to grow, after which admit a little 

 air by tilting the light on ouo side, increasing the amount 

 daily, and when well rooted remove the glass altogether. The 

 cuttings may bo potted singly in 3-incU pots, and placed in a 

 cold frame, or in a gentle hotbed, affording a mild bottom heat 

 of 65° or 70' for about a fortnight or three weeks. The time 

 to put in cuttings is from spring to October. 



Early-struck cutfings may flower in autumn if shifted as the 

 pots become full of roots, and encouraged with a proper supply 

 of water, adding to the compost one-fourth of old cow dung ; 

 or the compost for growing plants in summer after striking 



may be loam from turf, sandy rather than heavy, one-half, 

 leaf mould one-fourth, old cow dung one-fonrth, with the addi- 

 tion of one-eighth of sandstone, in pieces from the size of a 

 pea to that of a hazel nut, and a like proportion of charcoal of 

 the sarao size, the small of neither being sifted out. The 

 loam should be torn to pieces with the hand, but not sifted, 

 nor must any of the compost, though it should be well mixed. 

 If the points cf the shoots be taken out when the plants are 

 4 inches high, they will branch, and any irregular-growing 

 shoots may bo stopped up to August, by which time we shall 

 have fine plants in G-inch pots. They may be bloomed in 

 these pots, or shifted into 8inch pots if they are disposed to 

 grow much more and the pots are full of roots. 



Thus, by autumn, good plants may be had from cuttings pnt 

 in early in spring, whilst those inseried in August will be well- 

 established plants either in pots or in a warm and dry sittia- 

 tion out of doors. Fine sorts are well worth a cold frame in 

 winter, and the plants being kept in 3-inch pots a large number 

 can be placed in a one or two-light frame. They cannot have 

 too much air, nor be kept too dry, the pots being plunged to 

 the rima in coal ashes, care being taken not to allow the plants 

 to suffer from dryness, nor must tbty be deluged with heavy 

 ruius. In very wet weather the lights should be kept on and 

 tilted at back, but in fine, mild weather drawn off. In frosty 

 weather the lights should be kept over them, and it necessary 

 close, aud in very severe frost a covering of mats should be 

 placed over the lights. The plants will be fit for planting out 

 in April for summer and autumn display in the flower garden. 

 Plant in light soil deeply dug, and enriched with leaf mould or 

 any well-reduced manure. For beds or borders the plants 

 should be 18 inches apart every way, or for a close mass or a 

 bed to be quickly covered, 1 foot ; whilst for each plant to ap- 

 pear as .". specimen, from 2 feet to 2 feet inches will not be 

 too great a distance to plant. 



In dry weather the plants should be well supplied with water, 

 especially when they are coming into flower, though they will 

 bear more drought than slm?st at>ypl,nt used in the flower 

 garden. If they remain in the ground during winter a mulch- 

 ing of leaf mould should be given about the plants, which may 

 be neatly pointsd-in in spring, and the dead paits removed 

 when the plants begin to grow. It is not advisable to remove 

 them early in winter, as they act as a protection. The flower- 

 stems, however, should be removed as the plants go out of 

 bloom. The plants are at their best in the year after pro- 

 pagation ; in the second year of flowering they are good, and 

 less disposed to growth ; and in the xhird they are poor ; there- 

 fore keep up the stock by annual propagation. 



If the cuttings are not struck in pots, nor potted after being 

 struck, they should be transplanted by October in a bed, after 

 they are well rooted, placing them 3 or 4 inches apart, and 

 selecting a warm situation and dry sandy soil. In spring they 

 may be removed to where they are to remain for flowering, 

 taking them up with good balls, and watering after planting if 

 the weather be dry. 



If the plants are to be grown in pots they ought to be 

 wintered in a cold frame, and in spring should be shifted from 

 the small pots, in which they have been wintered, into 4;-inch 

 pots. This should be done in March, and if no plants have 

 been wintered in pots, the best of those in the open ground 

 may be taken up and potted, if they are cuttings or suckers of 

 last year. It is not necessary to use pots larger than 4^ inches 

 in diameter. The plants may be placed in a cold fraine, and 

 kept rather close and shaded until established, then harden 

 them well off, and after April place them in an open situation 

 sheltered from wind, but not shaded. The pots should be set 

 on coal ashes affording each plant enough of space to stand 

 clear of those near it, and leave a little room for growth. Plenty 

 of space should be afforded them in all stages of their growth, 

 except, perhaps, in winter, when room may be a consideration. 

 When the pots become full of roots, aud before these are very 

 much matted round the sides, shift into 7-inch pots, and again 

 into 8-inch pots, and for the most vigorous plants even into 

 9-inch pots, the final shift being given by the time the flower- 

 buds show ; or if stopping be practised, the final shift will be 

 required at the end of June, if not stopped earlier in that 

 month; whilst for late blooming the last shift need not be 

 given until July. Ko potting should be attempted until the 

 loots are matted round the sides of the pots, still it must be 

 done before they become very much so. Good drainage should 

 be given, and especially at the last repotting. 



The plants should be well supplied with water, not giving 

 any, however, until the soil becomes dry, and then enough to 



