ON LAYING CARNATIONS. 123 



obtain plants that are strong and healthy before the cold weather 

 commences ; I consider the best time to be from the 20th of July 

 to the 20th of August, when they will have time enough to root 

 strongly before the winter begins. 



The pegs which I select for laying is fern, (but others use wood 

 or bone) each five or six inches long, with a short hook at the 

 top. Fern pegs, which in most places arc easily procured, are, 

 in my opinion to be preferred, because they are naturally formed 

 for the purpose ; they retain a sufficient degree of strength to 

 hold the layers securely down till they have formed root, and will 

 decay when no longer needful. 



The day before I begin the operation of laying my plants, I 

 water- them freely, taking great care to pick off" any part that is 

 decayed, or likely to obstruct their rooting ; and when they 

 produce too many side shoots, it will be better to take only two 

 or three layers, if the sort is of value, reserving the rest for pip- 

 ings, because many layers draw too much nourishment from the 

 root of the plant. Supposing the layer selected to have four 

 or five joints, the lower leaves must all be cut off, or stripped 

 close to the stem, till within two or three joints of the end or 

 extremity of the layer. 



The practice which I pursue is to cut off all the leaves with a 

 knife or a pair of scissors, so as to leave them only an inch, or 

 an inch and a half in length, from the joint whence they proceed 

 according to the strength and substance of the layer ; but it is 

 questioned by some whether it would not tend to strengthen the 

 new plant about to be formed, were the ends of the leaves left 

 entire. 



All the layers on one plant must be thus dressed or prepared 

 before proceeding farther ; and when the layers are ready, the 

 bits of leaves must be cleared away from the surface of the soil, 

 which ought to be stirred about an inch in depth, and fresh 

 mould, rich and light, but not too fine in the grain added, to the 

 depth of an inch or two. I find that the old Carnation compost 

 used last year answers very well for this purpose, and ought to 

 br kept for the occasion. I next take a very sharp, smooth- 

 edged pen-knife, with a small thin blade, holding the layer be- 

 tween the thumb and finders of the left hand a little bent upwards, 

 and introduce the knife on thiit side of the layer next the ground 

 in a sloping direction upwards, commencing about a quarter of an 

 inch below the second or third joint from the extremity, and con- 



