ON THE PROPAGATION OP PLANTS. 17 



shelves in the greenhouse. The bell-glasses must all be shaded when 

 the sun is powerful, by means of white-brown paper; and every 

 morning they must be regularly wiped, or the moisture accumulating 

 on the sides of the glass will cause the cuttings to turn mouldy, and 

 eventually die off, even after they are rooted. Water must only be 

 given when the top sand is become dry, and then a sufficient quan- 

 tity must be given in a morning, so as to reach the bottom part of 

 the sand. At the end of June the greenhouse kinds must be removed 

 out of the house, and plunged in a shaded dry border till the following 

 September, (when such as remain unstruck, if any, must be taken 

 back to their former residence.) When they are plunged, they must 

 be defended from rains by means of hand-glasses, each covering four 

 or five pots with their bell-glasses. When the cuttings are rooted, 

 the sooner they are potted off the better, in as small pots as they can 

 be safely got into; for if too long, the sand is apt to injure the roots. 

 When they are first potted, they should be kept under a close glass 

 for a few days, and shaded with a mat till they have taken fresh 

 root, and then hardened to the open air by degrees. If the young- 

 plants are drawn up too slender, their tops must be pinched off, to 

 make them grow bushy. Those kinds that require heat must remain 

 plunged in a hotbed till they are struck, and not be put into the 

 open ground, as directed for those that require no heat. Soft-wooded 

 kinds and herbaceous ones will not strike well in sand, and must 

 therefore be planted in light mould. Geraniums may be struck in 

 the open ground, covered with a hand-glass, all the summer months ; 

 but, where a large quantity are required, the best time is September. 

 A slight hotbed, with a surface of six inches of light rich soil, and 

 covered with a one-light frame, will strike them very well at this 

 season. Some plants, as Aloysia cytriodora, &c., will not strike 

 freely from cuttings, unless the two bottom joints are cut through in 

 a transverse direction. It is a very erroneous opinion, entertained by 

 some people, to think that a plant can only be preserved a few years 

 by cuttings, and that it is only by seed that a plant can be raised so 

 as to be propagated successively for ages. For myself, I should never 

 be afraid of losing any plant after having once got it to thrive, and 

 succeeded in propagating it by cuttings. 



In my next article I will give instructions of increase by means of 

 offsets and the various plant-divisions. 



Vol. XIV. No. 155. b 



