HOW TO MAKE CUTTINGS. 



159 



ground where it is sown should be raked 

 level, and the soil pulverized fine. Parsley 

 seed is very slow in g-erminating-, takings 

 three or four weeks before it shows any sii'^n 

 of growth, unless the weather is very favor- 

 able. 



A row or two of lettuce seed should be 

 sown as soon as the ground can be worked 

 nicely. The early Ohio and the Hanson are 

 two good varieties. 



A packet of leek seed sown early will give 

 quite a number of plants for planting out 

 later on. Leek seed should be sown in 

 shallow drills about three-quarters of an inch 

 deep. Later on, when the plants are tour or 

 five inches high, they can be planted in 

 shallow trenches in a few inches of soil, 



underneath which has been placed some well 

 rotted manure. 



It is hardly safe to plant dwarf or pole 

 beans until the first or second week in May. 



A few sets of early potatoes can be plant- 

 ed early in May, or earlier if the weather is 

 suitable. The Van Ornam and the early 

 Ohio are two of the best first early kinds. 



A good sized bed of spinach should be 

 sown early, as the first sowing is usually 

 the most productive and nicest eating. Late 

 sown spring spinach is an uncertain" and 

 oftentimes useless crop, as it is generally 

 tough and flavorless in the hot weather. 

 The Viroflay is about the best variety for 

 spring sowing. 



Hamilton. W. Hunt. 



HOW TO MAKE CUTTINGS. 



BIT of a plant stuck in the ground 

 stands a chance of growing and this 

 ^ bit is a cutting. Of most flowering 

 plants cuttings or slips are taken from the 

 green or growing wood. To tell whether 

 the wood is in the right stage for taking 

 cuttings give it a quick snap between the 

 fingers and if it snaps and hangs by the 

 bark it is all right; but if it bends without 

 breaking, it is too young or old; or if it 

 splinters, it is too old and woody. Sand or 

 gravel is the best soil to start the cuttings in. 

 It should be kept wet all the way through 

 and be protected from the sun and too 



rapid evaporation. A newspaper thrown 

 over a box of cuttings is a good protec- 

 tion. 



The tips of strong, upright shoots usually 

 make the best cuttings. Each slip should 

 have a joint near the base. Allow two or 

 three leaves to remain near the top and if 

 the leaves are too large, cut them in two. 

 As soon as new leaves start well and the 

 cutting is rooted, it may be potted into 

 good soil in pots or boxes, but it may take 

 several weeks or even months for the 

 cutting to take root. As long as they 

 remain green they are all right. 



The Way to Force Plants to Branch. 

 — There is only one way in which a plant 

 can be forced to branch, and that is by 

 cutting off the stalk. The plant thus 

 interfered with will make an effort to grow, 

 and either a new shoot will be sent up to 

 take the place of the lost top, or several 



shoots will be sent out along the stalk. 

 If but one starts cut it back. Keep up this 

 cutting-back process until you have obliged 

 as many branches as you think are needed. 

 Persistency and patience will oblige the 

 plant to do as you would like to have it do. 

 — April Ladies' Home Jour 7ial. 



