THE HEATH AND RHODODENDRON FAMILY. 293 



gated by cuttings of the young wood, just as it gets firm at the 

 base. These should be pricked into pans of sandy soil, and 

 placed in a warm frame or pit for a week or so previous to 

 setting them on a gentle bottom-beat. If only one or two 

 individuals are required, then propagate by layering. Grafting 

 is often the quickest and best method of propagation ; and R. 

 ponticum, or any other hardy variety, may be raised from seed 

 for stocks. Clean seedling stocks are best, and grafting can 

 be performed in September or later, side or veneer grafting 

 being the best methods, as then the top of the stock need not 

 be headed down. A close frame or a pit slightly heated should 

 be used in which to conduct the operation ; and the stocks 

 should be established in pots for choice varieties. Inarching 

 succeeds well from April to September, and is often best and 

 surest where the parent plant is small and portable. The hardy 

 kinds may be propagated readily by grafting, the stocks being 

 taken up in March and grafted either by side or splice grafting, 

 after which lay in the stocks by the heels, and cover either with 

 a frame or hand-lights until the union is complete, which will 

 be in about a month or six weeks. Some graft the stocks at 9 

 to 10 inches from the ground in the open quarters, and others 

 graft at the collar in August, covering the junction with soil. 

 In grafting, tie the scion firmly, and exclude air by a coating of 

 mastic or grafting wax. Scions are formed of the young growth 

 after it has become partially hardened at the base. 



The late Mr J. Standish recommends grafting in heat in 

 January, February, and March, or in a cold frame in April ; 

 but in the latter case the grafts require to be cut in February, 

 and stuck in a north border, protecting them with a bell-glass 

 or hand-light. Stocks are two-year-old seedlings, with clear 

 fresh stems, and these can be worked if desirable within an 

 inch or two of the collar. Saddle-grafting is the best in heat, 

 and forms the firmest and most intimate union. For grafting, 

 the stocks are taken up from the nursery rows, and after being 

 worked and tied firmly, they are carefully planted in boxes of 

 light rich earth, and placed in a close case in the propagating 

 house or stove until a union is effected. Side-grafting in 

 August is also successful, the stocks being potted and grafted 

 in heat as above, but not headed back as in saddle-grafting ; 

 and they require to be kept under glass until the spring, while 

 those worked earlier in the year can be planted out in October 

 (see 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' 1871, p. 308). 



The seeds should be sown as soon as they are ripe in a 

 slightly-heated frame or pit on a bed of fine soil, or if the quan- 

 tity is small, in pots, boxes, or pans. Some prefer to keep the 



