JULY. 303 



through a wire seive. Put this composition into a ten 

 inch seed pan, and level the top and water it well ; then 

 take your Pinks intended for cuttings and cut them off at 

 the third joint with a sharp knife ; he careful and noi 

 hruise them'; also, cut off the ends of the leaves or grass, as 

 the gardeners term them. Having prepared as many as 

 you wish, place them in a basin of cold water for about 

 ten minutes, to make them stiff and enter the soil with 

 more ease ; this done, take a bell glass and press on the 

 soil to make i mark, the better to guide you to insert your 

 pipings ; keep them within the space designed to receive 

 them ; then stick them into the soil to the first joint, about 

 half an inch apart, each way ; water them gently to settle 

 the soil around the plants; and when the grass is suf- 

 ficiently dry put on the glass to exclude the air, and place 

 them in the shade. At the expiration of two weeks take 

 off the glass, and water them ; be careful and not cover 

 them until the grass is dry, or your pipings will damp off 

 and your labor be lost. When you perceive they begin 

 to grow give a little air by degrees. You will find some 

 more backward than others in growing, which will require 

 some precaution in admitting air too freely. In about six 

 weeks, if your plants have been well attended to, they will 

 have formed sufficient root to be transplanted into the open 

 ground. It is said that pipings make the best and most 

 hardy plants. Pinks will grow readily from slips, and 

 make large plants in less time than pipings, which is a 

 desirable object. It will frequently happen that layers are 

 destroyed by heavy and continuous rains ; therefore all the 

 layers should not be layered at once, to guard against such 

 a circumstance. 



