THE CARNATION MANUAL. 115 



LAYERING. 



About the beginning of August the grass will 

 be getting ripe for layering, and if this opera- 

 tion is delayed the stems get hard and do not 

 strike freely. The operation is very simple, and 

 anyone with a little care may soon become expert 

 at it. With a sharp knife clear away the foliage 

 from the under part of the layer up to the third or 

 fourth joint, counting from the top. Insert the 

 knife under the joint, cutting half-way through the 

 stem, running the knife up the stem about half an 

 inch ; bend up the layer till the joint-cut is quite 

 open, then press gently into the soil, when it can 

 either be secured with a peg or kept in place by 

 putting some more soil about it. I may say here 

 that I never use a peg when layering in the open 

 ground. I occasionally find them necessary when 

 layering in pots, as in the limited space one cannot 

 get sufficient soil about the layers to keep them in 

 position. Galvanised wire pegs can be got which 

 are made for the purpose. Willow twigs do very 

 Avell, or, better still, the stems of the Common 

 Bracken (Pteris aquAlina). The compost used 

 here for layering is one barrow-load of river sand and 

 one of cocoa-nut fibre to three of light garden soil, 

 all passed through a half-inch riddle. After layer- 

 ing has been completed, give water with a fine rose, 

 to thoroughly soak the soil about the layers ; and 

 should the weather continue dry, they will require 



