ii6 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



the remainder of soil being returned and made firm. The cuttings should 

 not be out of the ground more than an inch, but this is not material 

 BO long as they are in the ground to a depth of five inches. When 

 the row is completed, more ground is dug, and another row commenced 

 about twelve inches from the first. After a hard frost the cuttings are 

 often by its action raised out of the ground and left hanging. As soon as 

 frost has gone go over the cuttings, and push them down. It may be 

 necessary to do this two or three times, but if neglected for long success 

 cannot be expected. Subsequent treatment consists in keeping the 

 surface soil loose for about two inches, and in the following spring 

 twelvemonths, that is about eighteen months after planting, the cuttings 

 should be transplanted to their permanent position. When doing this, 

 place a little very fine soil near the roots, which are so fine that in heavy 

 soil they do not start properly. The majority of Eoses will strike readily 

 from cuttings, but will not all be in fit condition at one time. Do not 

 attempt to strike any from the first lot of plants, for the wood you would 

 use is of great value the second season for flowers. Plants three years 

 old will provide plenty of useful cuttings. There are other ways of 

 making Rose cuttings, the next best to the above being from the growths 

 of pot-grown plants in March or April. If a variety is scarce, one eye 

 or leaf-bud is cut off and stuck, with leaf attached, round the side of a 

 three and a-half inch pot of sandy soil. A cutting with two eyes and 

 both leaves attached, however, is preferable, but remove the end leaflet, 

 and plunge the pot in cocoa-nut fibre in a cucumber or melon frame. 

 Place a small bell glass over the pot of cuttings, and freely sprinkle 

 the foliage. It is most important to well preserve the foliage, and, of 

 course, when inserted the cutting should be clean and free from insect 

 pests. 



Protecting Rose Blooms. Even the beginner, if he grows a fine rose, 

 wishes it to last as long as possible, and develop to its utmost beauty. 

 With some of the Tea and light-coloured Roses, shading of the flowers 

 is necessary. Zulu straw hats fastened on sticks are as good as anything, 

 or a frame of wire can be made cheaply to support a piece of calico. 

 Even a flat piece of board tacked on a stake will keep a flower clean, 

 and not exclude the air. High-coloured Roses should not be shaded. 



Treatment after First Flowering. Go over the plants that are 

 autumn flowering, remove any crowded growths, and those that have 

 flowered, unless the flower has been cut with a fairly long stalk, should 

 be cut back a few inches to a dormant leaf -bud looking outward. A 

 better second growth is secured, and it does no harm to next season's 

 blossoming. It is a great strain upon a plant to allow it to seed. As 

 the flowers die off, cut back the growth at once, instead of allowing 

 the seed-pods that appear at the base of the flower to develop. 



Pests, Insect, and Otherwise. Caterpillars and green-fly are the worst 

 insect pests. There is nothing better than hand-picking for the former. 

 When two leaves are stuck together, or rolled up, a fat maggot will be 

 found. Pinch the leaf, and this will settle the marauder. Constant 

 watching is necessary. Do not let two days go by without looking over 

 all the plants. Many a flower is injured through neglect of this pre- 



