PELARGONIUM UPERCIFOLIUM. 5 



leaves removed, they may be inserted, two joints deep, in a stratum of light sandy soil, 

 superposed upon the hotbed ; or they may be planted round the sides of a pot well 

 drained, and filled with soil of a similar description. 



It often happens, that from neglect in training, this, in' common with all the members 

 of the Geranium family, and indeed most other plants, will protrude shoots either too 

 close to each other, or in such a manner as to communicate an awkward appearance 

 to the plant ; and at the time of selecting the cuttings, this circumstance must not be lost 

 sight of. 



Suckers are frequently thrown up close to the stem of the plant, particularly when 

 planted out, and these are available for propagation ; when practicable, they should be 

 removed with a piece of the root attached ; and when a large increase of the plant is 

 desired, the long fleshy roots of an old plant may be employed for this purpose, treating 

 them precisely as cuttings. In advising the use of a hotbed, we do not by any means 

 wish to have it supposed by the uninitiated reader that a large one is necessary, nor 

 is the customary frame and light at all indispensable. In the summer months, two 

 or three good barrowfuls of stable manure will be amply sufficient for a considerable 

 number of cuttings, whether of this or of any other plant, and at that season will 

 retain its heat until they are well rooted. Instead of the frame and sash, a small hand- 

 light may be substituted, care being taken to shade the cuttings from the direct rays 

 of the sun during the first few days after planting them, and to admit air gradually 

 as soon as they have given evidence by their upward growth of having commenced 

 an independent existence. 



Simple as the construction of a small hot-bed may be, there are many persons who, 

 from want of room or other causes, are unable to avail themselves of its obvious 

 advantages. In these cases, the increase of the plant must be affected in those months 

 in which the temperature of the atmosphere and soil is highest, viz., June, July and 

 August. The cuttings may be planted in a warm border or corner, but will, as 

 when struck on heat, require to be covered with a hand-light, and shaded until rooted. 

 They will not, perhaps, strike with the same readiness as cuttings of the common 

 Scarlet Geraniums, but in no case during the summer months will more than three 

 weeks be necessary. Where it is inconvenient to plant them in the open air, the 

 cuttings may be inserted in pots of sandy soil and placed upon a window, supplying 

 them with only a moderate amount of moisture, as they are more impatient of an 

 excess than most of the commoner varieties. 



Whichever mode of propagating them is adopted, whether the hotbed, the open air, 

 or the window, the cuttings must, as soon as they are well rooted, be potted separately 

 in small pots, in soil composed of sandy loam, with a little leaf mould. When they 

 have filled the pot with roots, they may be shifted to one of large size, and a loam 

 containing less sand may be employed, as the plant will be now able to assimilate 

 an amount of nutriment which, when first rooted, might have been prejudicial to its 

 growth. 



