The Fascination of Flowers [311 



in half an inch of the top. Moisten the sand and press it down 

 firmly. Make a hole in this soil for each stem cutting you wish 

 to plant. (A pencil is a very good tool for this purpose.) 



Now place a freshly cut stem in each hole, making sure that in 

 every case you have buried at least two "nodes" juncture points 

 for leaves that have been removed. Keep the little garden moist, in 

 a cool place, and before long, roots should form at each node. 



How to Propagate Plants 



AFRICAN VIOLETS 



You can work out an excellent arrangement for propagat- 

 ing African violets from leaves by using two flowerpots one an 

 eight-inch size and shallow, the other a three-inch pot. Cover the 

 hole of the larger pot with a piece of crockery and partly fill the 

 pot with sand. Close the hole of the smaller pot with a cork, and 

 place this pot inside the larger one, filling the space between the 

 two pots with more sand. If you keep the small flowerpot filled 

 with water, the sand will be moist at all times. Set the base o( 

 the violet leaves in the moistened sand. 



BEGONIAS AND SNARE PLANTS 



Begonia leaves may simply be pegged down with toothpicks 

 on moist sand and slit across the main veins. Small plants will 

 develop at the wounds. The ever-popular snake plant, or Sanse- 

 vieria, may be propagated by cutting leaves into sections an inch 

 or more in length and pegging them into moist earth. The leaves 

 of this white or yellowish plant take root easily but grow slowly. 

 Any plant you are raising from leaves or stems should be 

 covered by a glass jar or globe until it has become well rooted. 

 The covering keeps the air immediately surrounding the plants 

 moist; an excessively dry atmosphere would soon kill them. 



GROWING FLOWERS INDOORS 



If flowers interest you more, you will find that marigolds, 

 petunias, and other plants will flourish in your window boxes. 

 Smaller seeds should be planted about a quarter of an inch deep, 



