374 GARDENS u. 



garden mould and loam, and when the roots have filled these small 

 pots they must be removed, and either " bedded out" that is, put 

 into the garden bed, or be placed in larger pots. 



Layers are managed in a similar manner, with this difference, they 

 must not be cut clean off. We hardly know what plant may not be 

 grown by layers, neither does it matter whether you make your cut 

 high up or low down, though there is no doubt the sap sooner 

 reaches the incision made in the layer, and causes it to strike earlier, 

 the nearer it is to the root. To make a layer, pick out a. 

 young stem, cut it lengthwise nearly half through, drawing the knife 

 in the direction towards the top of the stem, this sloping half- cut 

 had better not exceed an inch in length ; having made this incision, 

 put anything in to keep the cut open a peg, a bit of stone, no 

 matter what then all you have to do is to bury the cut portion in 

 the earth, and as the other end of the layer is still a portion of the 

 original plant, being attached to it by the root, and the top or thin 

 end above the cut is out of the ground, the new root will be formed 

 where the cut is made, and in time may be separated from the ori- 

 ginal layer that is connected with the root or stock of the plant. In 

 brief, the art of layering is pegging a stem down in the middle and 

 making a root, where had it been left standing there would only have 

 been a branch. If you notice the strawberry, it throws out runners, 

 at the end of which, or very near, you will see an offset, that sends 

 out a root and settles in the earth of its own accord. Layering 

 accomplishes the same end ; the branch we peg down is the runner, 

 so to speak, the incision we make, and set in the ground, is the off- 

 set, and forms the root of the new plant. Nature does for the straw- 

 berry what we do by art to no end of plants ; it sends out a layer or 

 runner from the strawberry-root, which runner sends out a root and 

 plants itself, without any trouble to gardeners or owners. To con- 

 clude, layers are only cut half through in a slanting direction when 

 the part cut is buried in the earth and pegged down. 



Pruning, grafting, and such like, are beyond the management of 

 boys, and to understand these operations thoroughly a good work on 

 gardening must be studied. As to setting seeds, almost anything 

 may be put in the ground in March and April, and will be sure to 

 come up if the beds are properly prepared, the seeds left undisturbed, 

 and not drowned by too much watering. For our part, we never 

 water anything until we see them beginning to droop for want of 

 nourishment, then we give them a thorough soaking, and that lasts 

 a long time. Remember, if you want fine flowers, to pull off all 

 your plants that have bloomed and are decaying ; you will have no 

 seed by doing this, but a succession of splendid flowers, and as fine 

 as the first. 



