14 ON PROPAGATION OF ERICAS. 



of damp in winter, and gradually expose the plants, by taking off 

 the glass when the plants are up strong enough — say half an inch. 

 Pot off singly in the following March into small 60-sized pots, well 

 drained, in chopped sandy peat, using a little fine to imbed the 

 fibrous roots in when first planted. 



Increase by Cuttings. — Have a pot drained, one-third its depth, 

 with broken pots, over this, sandy peat, and a few bits of stone or 

 pot intermixed j this being made even, spread over it an inch of 

 white, or what is called silver sand, let the surface be even with the 

 rim ; after watering it the cuttings may be inserted in rows not 

 within an inch of the side. When the cuttings are put in, water 

 must be given, so as to settle the sand firmly round them. After 

 being allowed an hour or so to dry, the bell-glass should be put over. 

 It often happens that the accumulation of wet inside the glass, 

 running down to the surface of the soil, saturates it, so that it damps 

 off the cuttings ; to avoid this I have a zinc trough made to the size 

 of the rim of the glass, an inch deep up the inside of the glass, and 

 half an inch outside, with a portion that bends over the rim of the 

 pot. This frame being pressed into the sand, the glass is fixed in it ; 

 being placed, a little sand is put round the outside of the rim, 

 keeping the inside air-tight. This trough receives the accumulating 

 water inside the glass, and the outside rim being lower than the 

 inside, any accumulation of water would pass over the outside of 

 the pot. This precaution renders it unnecessary to take off the glass 

 to wipe away the wet, which ought not to be removed, but be kept 

 on as much as possible. The cuttings must be obtained from newly 

 pushed shoots ; these usually may be had by May ; any particular 

 late kind is readily started by placing it in a little higher tempe- 

 rature. When the shoots are about three-quarters of an inch pushed, 

 cut them off close to where they recently started from in a straight 

 cut through. A small sharp razor should be used, so that the base 

 of the cutting is a clean cut ; the lower half of the cutting must have 

 the leaves cut off close to the stem with the razor. Care must be 

 taken not to bruise the stem by pinching or otherwise. In inserting 

 the cuttings the. base of each must rest upon the sand, and watering 

 will sink it around the stem. By this mode of treatment the cuttings 

 will root in the course of three or four weeks; when well rooted they 

 are to be taken up with all the fibrous roots possible, and be potted 



