140 THE amateur's geeenhotjse 



if well put on, and by judicious management handsome 

 standard tricolors may by this practice be obtained. 



It is often a matter of importance to propagate tricolors in 

 winter as well as in summer, and this may be accomplished 

 easily by the aid of a bed of moist sand, or a mixture of sand 

 and cocoa-nut fibre refuse, over a tank of hot water, at the 

 warmest end of the greenhouse. The bed should have a con- 

 stant temperature of 70° to 80°, and be in the fullest daylight 

 obtainable. If the cuttings are inserted in the usual way many 

 of them will rot, and therefore Dr. Denny's plan should be 

 resorted to. This consists in first tying the cutting to a short 

 stick, and then inserting between stick and stem another stick 

 placed horizontally to keep the upright stick and stem apart. 

 The upright stick is thrust down into the soil so deep that the 

 base of the cutting barely touches the surface, as shown in the 

 figure. The roots are thrown out from the base, and the cut- 

 ting begins to make new leaves, and must then be carefully 

 potted in sandy soil in the smallest sized thumb-pots, and the 

 pot plunged in the bed or put on a warm shelf to encourage it 

 to become a healthy plant. The figure (p. 139) will explain 

 the matter if the description of the process is not quite clear. 



Seedling Pelaegonitjms. — To raise seed is easy enough, 

 but systematic cross-breeding is an art to be acquired by patient 

 observation, persevering practice, and the stimulus of un- 

 faltering hope. If there are no bad geraniums in the garden, 

 a few seeds may be allowed to ripen on the most distinct 

 varieties in the collection, and from these something new and 

 good may be expected. If you have a house kept at a tem- 

 perature of 50° to 60° all the winter, sow the seed in August 

 and get the plants into small pots in time to winter them in 

 comfortable quarters-. If you have only cold pits and other 

 rough contrivances for wintering the plants, defer sowing 

 until February and then start the seed in a nice heat. As 

 soon as the plants are large enough pot them in thumbs, 

 next in 60's and finally in 48's. In the last-named size they 

 should be allowed to flower, as it is waste of labour to grow 

 specimens of plants that may prove to be worthless. As 

 the flowers open destroy those that are manifestly bad and 

 take cuttings of all that promise to be worthy of a second 

 trial. By good management seedling pelargoniums will begin 

 to flower in 100 days from the date the seed was sown. 



