FLORICULTURAL GLEANINGS. *\ 



ginner " must exclude, if he wishes to exhibit first-rate blooms. As 

 long as this covering is up, and also in dry weather, the plants and 

 layers must be occasionally watered to keep the soil firm about the 

 young plants, and preserve a due degree of moisture. Should part 

 of his bed require sun to get them forward after the other part is 

 ready for exhibition, the latter must be carefully covered with glasses, 

 and shaded with paper covers over them, and the southern side of the 

 tent raised up in fine weather to bring the rest forward. A support 

 of pasteboard or strong paper must also now be put below the guard 

 leaves to keep them perfectly horizontal; and if the cultivator has 

 time to dress the petals of his flowers regularly down as they come 

 forward, he will have less to do on the day of exhibition when he 

 approaches the prize table, where I will now take my leave of his 

 flowers, hoping that a few of his favourites will crown him with 

 honours to cheer him on to future exertions. 



Sixthly. Little more need now be said except a word on potting, 

 as we have now nearly accompanied the " Young Beginner " through 

 a complete revolution of the seasons. The blooming season being 

 now over, the most of his plants will be rooted if he has performed 

 the layering as before directed. The only thing, therefore, that he 

 has now to do is to lift his plants carefully, and, after he has severed 

 them from the old plants, to cut the stem off close below the joint, 

 the half of which was pegged into the ground previously. This half 

 generally strikes root also during the winter months, so that good 

 plants treated thus are generally turned out with two roots in the 

 spring. I have to-day (December 2d) unpotted some of my own 

 layers for a distant friend, and I find that some of them have already 

 made a tolerably good second root : these layers might probably be 

 potted about the second week in October, and were then strong. I 

 generally keep a little good fresh soil under cover for the purpose of 

 potting, and this I mix with one-third sand. This renders it very 

 light ; and those layers badly rooted generally strike freely during 

 the winter months when potted in it. And here I would warn " A 

 Young Beginner " to beware of the evil of potting too deeply, as this, 

 in my opinion, is the cause of the loss of many fine healthy plants. 

 If plants are potted with the soil above any of the foliage, the moisture 

 is very apt to insinuate itself into the stem at the joints, and this is 

 often productive of the most disastrous consequences to the plants so 



