76 



PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



light material, such as finely sifted rotten refuse hops or 

 leaf mould. These are treated exactly in the way of cut- 

 tings of the shoots, except that there is no necessity ever 

 to shade root cuttings; water should be sparingly given 

 until they have freely started through their covering. 

 One of the most important plants to propagate by root 

 cuttings is the Bouvar- 

 dia, and it requires to 

 be placed in a high 

 temperature. It is bet- 

 ter not to put the roots 

 in to. start before the 

 season is sufficiently 

 advanced to keep the 

 temperature steadily 

 high, say about the 

 15th of March, or 1st of 

 April. The Bouvardia 

 is also increased by 

 cuttings of the young 

 shoots, but it requires 

 more care, the plants 

 so made are not so fine, 

 and the ease and cer- 

 tainty with which they Fi - 2*. -DAHLIA CUTTING. 

 make good plants by cutting up the roots render any 

 other mode useless. 



I have said that if the simple conditions that we lay 

 down for our guidance in the propagation of plants are 

 strictly followed, failure is an impossibility. These con- 

 ditions, together with the state of the cutting, are tempera- 

 ture and moisture. It is very easy to give a rule for these, 

 yet it requires unremitting attention to keep to that rule 

 through all the deviations of the seasons, and it is utterly 

 impossible to follow it, whenever the outside temperature 

 exceeds the limit given. Hence we find that the propa- 



