30 Reviews. — Lindley^s Theory of HorlicuUure. 



from under ground, frequently form roots at their base, when they 

 are employed as a means of propaj^ation; and, in the case of the 

 Pine-apple, they are made use of fur the same [)urpnse, although 

 they do not emit roots till they are separated from the parent. Gar- 

 deners usually satisfy themselves with taking from their Pine-apple 

 plants such suckers as are ])ro(luced in consequence of the stopi)age 

 of onward growth by the formation of the fruit: but these are few in 

 number, and not at all what the plant is capable of yielding. In- 

 stead of throwing away the "stump" of the Pine-ap|)le, it should be 

 placed in a damp pit, and exposed to a bottom heat of 90^ or there- 

 abouts, when every one of the latent eyes will spring forth, and a 

 crop of young plants be the result. Mr. Alexander Forsyth, a very 

 sensible writer upon these subjects, pointed this out some years since 

 in the Gardener^s Mai^azine (xii. 594;) and there can be no doubt 

 that his observations upon the folly of throwing away stumps are 

 jicrfectly correct both in theory and practice. 



The practice of scarring the centre of bulbs, the heads of Echino- 

 cacti and such plants, and the crown of the stem of species like 

 Littaea geminiflora, in all which cases suckers are the result, is ex- 

 plicable upon the foregoing principles. 



Chapter XII. Grafting, its plans, improvements, and er- 

 rors relative thereto. Twenty-six pages detail the theory 

 and practice of pruning and training. Among the remarks of 

 potting, in Chapter XV., we find the following curious facts: — 



If woody plants are allowed to remain growing in the same pot 

 for many years, as is sometimes the case, one or two things nmst 

 ha|)[)en: either the roots, matted into a hard ball, become so tortuous 

 and hard as to be untie for the free passage of sap through them, or 

 ihey acquire a spiral direction. In either case, if such plants are 

 turned out of their jjots in a conservatory, or in the open ground, 

 with a view to tlieir future growth in a state of liberty, new roots 

 will be made witii difficulty, and it will be a long time before the ef- 

 fects of growth in free soil will be apparent. Where the spiral or 

 corkscrew direction has been once taken by the roots, they are very 

 apt to retain it during the remainder of their lives; and if, when they 

 have become large trees, they are exposed to a gale of wind, they 

 readily blow out of the ground, as was continually happening with 

 the Pinaster some years ago, when the nurserymen kept that kind of 

 Fir for sale in pots. In all such cases as these, the roots should 1)8 

 carefdily disentangled and straightened at the time when transplanta- 

 tion takes place. 



The "preservation of races by seed," and "the improve- 

 ment of races," are desirable topics for discussion with the 

 amateur florist, and general cultivator. By these gradations 

 and interchange, what superb results have accrued! The 

 dahlia and pasony, the rose and anemone, the camellia, and a 

 host of smaller beauties beside, all attest to the importance of 

 correct principles in their production and successful treat- 



