412 General Notices. 



From the present time till the middle of September, this beauty will rather 

 increase than diminish, and the labor demanded will be less than at earlier 

 seasons of the year. 



But we must intrude upon this state of repose by the note of warning 

 and remind the amateur that, if he wishes a repetition of the scene before 

 him next year, he must propagate at once. Many plants should now be 

 well rooted, such as wallflowers, pinks, and carnations ; biennials should be 

 sown, and roses budded. But it is to the propagation of exotic plants, re- 

 quiring the management of a frame, that I now call attention, and would 

 advise the following mode of treatment : — First, let a gentle hot-bed be 

 made. If you have a spent melon or cucumber bed, that will do, if the old 

 dung is mixed, to the depth of a foot, with leaves and mowings of grass. 

 You may either insert your cuttings in the mould in the frame or in pots. 

 The latter plan is preferable on many accounts ; the cuttings strike easily 

 against the sides of the pots, and they can be moved more readily. Indeed, 

 many things will be best left together in the striking pots until the spring, 

 and consequently they should be grown in a vehicle which can easily be re- 

 moved. The soil should be fine, yet porous, having a good portion of sand 

 mixed with it. 



As a general rule, the cuttings should be wood of this year's growth, 

 having consistency and strength at the part to be inserted in the ground. 

 Pelargoniums strike without any difficulty, and will scarcely fail under the 

 most ordinary management ; other plants are more difficult, yielding more 

 easily to damp, wind, &c. Let every cutting be taken off at a joint, and 

 inserted firmly into the soil. If the soil is moist, water need not be applied, 

 except in small portions. It often happens that an excess of water causes 

 a cutting to perish. Skill is shown in keeping the leaves from drooping ; 

 for, if they do so to any extent, they seldom recover their crispness ; and 

 every gardener knows that a cutting with half-withered leaves has liltle 

 chance. Place the pots in the frame as soon as they are filled, and keep 

 them close for a few hours. Attentively watch them ; pick off dead leaves, 

 and maintain a gentle heat. By treatment of this kind, and by remember- 

 mg the different habits of the woody and the succulent varieties, you w-ill 

 accomplish your purpose, and be independent of nurserymen and friends an- 

 other year. Do not be afraid of having too many ; but cut w-herever you 

 can without injuring the beauty of your beds. Some are sure to die, 

 and by misfortune, many may. Provide an abundance, and then you will 

 be able to do to others as you are often glad they should do to you — give 

 some away. 



In looking over the propagating department of the garden at Putteridge, 

 belonging to Colonel Sowerby, I was surprised to find that, under the hot 

 suns of May, thousands of cuttings just put in did not flag in the least, al- 

 though they had no shade but the glass. Mr. Fish informed me that this 

 was accomplished by keeping the plants a sufficient distance from the "lass. 

 By this simple arrangement, the light becomes difliised before it reaches the 

 plants ; whereas, if the glass were too near, they would require shading, or 

 be parched up. With these hints, added to his own experience and obser- 



