PREPARATION OF CUTTINGS 67 



flowering habit, but this difficulty may be overcome by 

 selecting a few plants and cutting back the flowering shoots 

 late in autumn, when a number of growths will be formed 

 which will be found suitable for winter cuttings. Whilst 

 propagation by cuttings may take place at any season, the 

 cultivator must be guided in this matter by the time of the 

 year the flowers are required. December, January, and 

 February are the principal months in which to raise plants 

 for flowering in the succeeding winter. Growers in Scot- 

 land will find that plants rooted in October will yield 

 excellent results, provided they are kept growing steadily 

 without a check during the dull days of winter. They 

 should be potted into 2j-inch pots in mid-November, and 

 again into 4-inch and 5-inch pots in January, by which 

 time the shoots will have been pinched once, and a founda- 

 tion laid for the future plant. 



Preparation of the Cuttings. Select strong, short- 

 jointed side shoots, 4 to 5 inches long, with a heel, if 

 possible ; but if this cannot be retained, and it is neces- 

 sary to cut the shoot, let it be cut with a sharp knife 

 just below a joint. Remove the bottom pair of leaves 

 in preparing the cutting. There are various methods of 

 rooting the cuttings, but whatever method is adopted, 

 they must be kept perfectly fresh, and not allowed to 

 flag or droop by exposure to the sun or a dry atmo- 

 sphere. Where large numbers of cuttings are propa- 

 gated, a sand-bed is most generally employed as a rooting 

 medium. Sand, or a light, sandy compost, to the depth 

 of 3 or 4 inches, is placed in the propagating frame, 

 in a house having an atmospheric temperature of 55 

 to 60, and a bottom, or sand-bed heat of 60 to 65. 



