NEW ZEALAND GARDENING. 99 



quantity of hooked pegs (strong hairpins will answer), and 

 some finely-sifted soil. When the shoots round each plant 

 have made five or six joints, choose a dull cloudy day on 

 which to perform the work. Commence by trimming off the 

 lower leaves of each shoot all round the plant. When this 

 is done, steady the shoot with the left hand, then pass a 

 sharp knife through the second or third joint from the base, 

 cutting upwards and half-way through. Then pass a hooked 

 peg, or stout hairpin, over the layer (where cut) and press it 

 firmly into the soil, taking care not to separate the layer from 

 the parent plant. Do the next in the same manner, and 

 so on till every shoot is layered ; then cover them all with 

 the sifted mould about three-quarters of an inch deep, and 

 that plant is completed. Then give a slight watering, and 

 the layers want no further care till they are rooted, which 

 will be in about a month or six weeks, when they may be 

 removed and planted out where required. 



By Pipings. Carnations and Picotees may be propa- 

 gated by this mode. It is, however, not so safe as layering, 

 but where there are more shoots than can be layered, and it 

 is desirable to propagate largely, the superfluous shoots may 

 be piped. Cut off the lower part of the shoot up to the 

 third joint, trim off the lowest pair of leaves, and pass the 

 knife just through the joint. Plant in sandy loam in a shaded 

 situation. The young plants will be fit for planting out in 

 the following Spring. 



Chrysanthemum. The characteristics of a show 

 Chrysanthemum are as follows: i. The plant should be 

 dwarf, shrubby, well covered with green foliage to the 

 bottom of the stems ; the leaves broad and bright ; the 

 flowers well displayed, abundant and well supported by the 

 stems, which should be supported by stakes painted green. 

 If the stems are more than eighteen inches high they are 

 gawky, and show too much green in comparison with the 

 bloom. 2. The flower should be round, double, high in 

 the crown, perfect in the centre, without disc or confusion, 

 and of the form of the segment of a ball. 3. The petals 

 should be thick, smooth, broad, circular at the ends, and the 

 point where they meet hardly perceptible. They must not 

 show their undersides by quilling, and should be of such 



