CUTTINGS AND HOW TO STRIKE THEM 305 



to place the frame on a raised bed composed of finely sifted soil 

 and road grit. This compost should be pressed down firmly, and 

 be edged with boards on all sides, so as to have the bed six inches 

 above the ground-level. 



Next comes the work of inserting the cuttings, and the only 

 implements required are a dibbler and a small tray of sharp 

 sand. First draw parallel lines three inches apart from top to 

 bottom of the bed, and along each line scatter a slight covering 

 of sand. In drilling the hole to receive the cutting care must be 

 taken to make it to the proper depth, so that the base of the 

 cutting may rest firmly on the soil. The cuttings should be placed 

 two inches apart. As each row is completed the proper label 

 bearing the name of the variety should be placed in position. 



When the bed is full the frame should be placed over it, and the 

 cuttings be supplied with a good sprinkling of water. The light 

 must then be shut down, and kept closed for a few days. Shading 

 should be supplied if it is required, and at the end of a fortnight 

 the light may be raised and air admitted to the frame. 



If cuttings be taken early in August, sturdy little plants will 

 have formed by the beginning of October, and they may then be 

 planted out in the beds and borders for flowering in the following 

 spring. 



An even simpler method of increasing the stock of violas and 

 pansies is that known as division. This can be done in the autumn 

 and the spring. The old clump should be taken out and just 

 pulled to pieces. Care must be taken, however, to see that each 

 piece has an attachment of roots. In the case of well-rooted 

 sections they may go into their flowering quarters without delay, 

 and if room cannot be found for them temporary quarters may be 

 made in a frame or a prepared bed in a fairly sheltered spot. 

 Planting out can then be postponed till the spring, but it will be 

 found that the strongest clumps and the earliest flowers come 

 from autumn planting. 



GERANIUMS (Zonal Pelargoniums). " Geraniums ! " I can im- 

 agine many of my readers exclaiming, " Why can't we propagate 

 our geraniums ? " Of course you can, but let not the gardener 

 u 



