CHAP. XVII VILLA CrAEDENING 117 



cuttings should be struck in August, potted into 3 -inch pots 

 when rooted, using good loam slightly enriched, and kept in a cold 

 frame, having free ventilation in fine weather, the pots plunged in 

 Cocoa-fibre. Early in April shift into 6-inch pots, and replunge in 

 fibre. The best position for the frame is the north side of wall or 

 fence, not quite close to the wall, but far enough to obtain full 

 light, and retain the value of its shelter and shade during the 

 hottest part of the day. As the plants grow, a few neat little 

 sticks may be placed to the shoots. Any plants that do not furnish 

 a sufticient number of breaks from the bottom to make nicely 

 furnished plants may early in the season have their shoots pegged 

 or layered into the soil. This will cause them to become bushy. 

 Those who make a specialty of Pansy culture will find it an ad- 

 vantage to grow a selection of the best varieties in pots for seed- 

 bearing purposes. 



Propagation by Cuttings. — Pansy cuttings strike freely at 

 any season of the year under suitable conditions, and when young 

 shoots can be obtained. In summer and autumn dibble the cuttings 

 into a prepared bed, under haudlights or in a frame, in a cool 

 shady position. It is better, in order to keep out worms, to place 

 a layer of coal ashes 2 inches thick in the bottom, and on this 

 place the prepared soil (sandy loam) about 5 inches deep, with a 

 sprinkling of sand on top, or charcoal dust wdl do better even than 

 sand. The Pansy, when making roots, requires to be moist, and 

 yet it is impatient of watering, damping off if watered too freely, 

 especially when kept close under glass ; hence the importance of 

 planting the cuttings in a cool position, where but little water will 

 be needed. In winter and spring propagation the cuttings are better 

 planted in pots or pans, in sandy loam, inserting the cuttings round 

 the edges chiefly, and plunging the pots in Cocoa-fibre or sawdust, 

 thus keeping them moist and sheltering them during the frequent 

 changes of temperature which occur at those seasons. 



Pansies may be increased by division, and are frequently treated 

 so in common cultivation. The young shoots may be layered and 

 lifted when rooted, and either planted in a nursery bed or taken to 

 their final quarters at once. In the successfid culture of the Pansy, 

 to obtain blooms of fine quality a good deal depends upon the 

 character of the soil. A loam that has a soft silky touch when 

 rubbed between the fingers will grow them to perfection with a 

 little old cow dung added. When grown in pots, these should 

 be carefully drained, not too many crocks placed in the bottom, 

 but enough to secure the free passage of the water ; for though the 

 Pansy must have moisture in abundance, yet anything approaching 

 stagnation is death to it. Many people when told to drain a pot 



