174 JOTTINGS OF A GENTLEMAN GARDENER 



Viola, Pink, Alyssum maritimum, and saxatile, Antir- 

 rhinum, Echeveria, Antennaria, and other cuttings can be 

 wintered in a cold frame merely protected from the coldest 

 weather by covering the frame with a mat. Geraniums, 

 however, must be wintered in a heated greenhouse, also 

 Lobelia cardinalis and several others. 



Taking the cuttings is simple work. In the case of 

 Geraniums, strong non-flowering shoots, 4-5 ins. long, 

 are taken off the plants, and cut just below or 

 through a leaf -joint. Boxes are prepared containing a 

 mixture of light loam and leaf -mould, with sufficient 

 sand to keep the soil porous. The cuttings should 

 have three or four or even more lower leaves removed. 

 They are then inserted close together in a box of 

 the light soil, by means of a dibber. They must be 

 made firm and not " hung," that is, they must not be 

 suspended in a hole with an air space below. The boxes 

 are then well watered and put in the heated greenhouse 

 " to strike." After this, water must be very carefully 

 given or damp may set in. They are placed on a shelf 

 close to the glass and given air on all suitable occasions 

 after they have struck root. A few months later they 

 may be potted separately into 3 in. pots. 



For hardier plants put a frame upon a piece of ground 

 which is not too sunny, and fork up the soil inside the frame. 

 Cover this with 4 ins. of old potting soil ; or if this cannot 

 be obtained, with good garden soil mixed with a quarter 

 of its bulk of silver sand. Gently firm this soil with the 

 back of the spade, or with boards, and after scattering a 

 little more sand on the surface, the bed is ready for the 

 cuttings. 



Take the cuttings from small non-flowering shoots 

 with a sharp knife. Calceolaria cuttings may be 2-3 ins. 

 long, Pentstemon 4 ins., Pansy and Viola 2 ins., Alyssum 

 saxatile 4 ins., Alyssum maritimum i ins., Antennaria 

 i -2 ins., Echeveria, small rosettes, about i in., and Antir- 

 rhinum cuttings, 3-4 ins. long. 



All these are cut just below or through a leaf- joint with 



