1 64 SEPTEMBER 



to many of my gardening friends. The cuttings 

 taken in September or October are, as a rule, 

 planted in a cold frame and left to themselves to live 

 or to die according as the winter is mild or severe. 

 In May those that remain are bedded out behind 

 geraniums, and are shortly after seen to wither 

 away, scorched by the summer sun or parched from 

 lack of moisture. There is only one remedy, and 

 that is shade. Calceolarias like shade, and whether 

 in cold frames or in the border do better if partially 

 protected from the sun, which robs their root fibres 

 of that moisture which is vital to the growth of the 

 tender foliage. No doubt the cuttings must be 

 kept free from too much moisture during their 

 winter sojourn in the frame, or they will damp off; 

 but when once started into growth in the sheltered 

 border they will thrive the better the cooler their 

 position is. It is wise to take cuttings in the early 

 weeks of September to give them time to strike 

 freely and make sufficient growth to enable them 

 to withstand hard weather. When this comes they 

 should be covered up close under a heap of straw 

 or fern or mats, being given ventilation as the 

 weather permits ; and when the days get longer, 

 and spring has set in, they should be well watered 

 when they require it, and allowed plenty of air 

 during the day. When planting time comes they 

 must be moved with a ball of earth round them 

 as big as a fist and planted in wet holes, the earth 

 being afterwards rammed well round the roots. If 

 the moving is done by the middle of May, which 

 is by no means too early in a southern garden, and 

 if they are kept sheltered from sun and frost until 



