Notes and Gleanings. 345 



An Improvement in Garden Shears. — Every one who has dipped a 

 hedge, or cut'grass with garden shears, knows how difficult it is to keep the 

 edges of the blades together so as to cut effectually ; and how vexatious it is to 

 have the grass or twigs get between the blades. We find in the Gardener's 

 Chronicle an account of a very ingenious contrivance for overcoming this 

 trouble. It is invented by Mr. F. J. Drechsler, and is called a Patent Movable 

 Spring. Its effect is to press the cutting edges of the shears together, as one 

 does usually when using this implement, by a strain of the muscles ; only when 

 the spring is used, the hands and arms, being relieved from this particular ac- 



tion, have more freedom of motion. It consists of a peculiarly bent iron hook, 

 one end of which is fitted into the handle on one side, while on the other handle 

 is a stout india-rubber ring, which, when the shears are in use, is pulled over 

 the opposite end of the hook. It can be applied to any shears, and removed 

 again in a few seconds, and very much facilitates the working of them, its 

 special office being to press the blades together so as to insure a cleaner cut. 



Raising Begonias from Leaves. — Variegated Begonias are usually prop- 

 agated from leaves. To treat them in this way, select of this season's leaves, 

 such as are grown nearly or quite to their full size, and consequently are firm and 

 not likely to damp off. Take the leaves off with about one or two inches of 

 leaf-stalk, and if you require as many plants from a leaf as you can obtain, take 

 an ordinary shallow seed-pan, and after preparing it in the usual way, insert the 

 stalk portion of the leaf near the side of the pan, and peg the leaf flat down 

 upon the surface. Before doing this, it is as well to cut through the principal ribs 

 or veins with a sharp knife. Plenty of roots will soon be emitted from the cuts, 

 and finally young buds will start, and tiny plants be the result. Plants will also 

 be produced where the pegs are punched through the leaf. It is impossible to 

 say how many leaves a pan will hold, for this part of the question depends en- 

 tirely upon its size and that of the leaves. We cover the entire surface of our 

 pans, keeping the stalks by the side of the pans. If we have plenty of leaves 

 to deal with, we adopt a slightly different method of procedure. Instead of 

 using the leaf in its entirety, we take the leaf with a couple of inches of stalk, as 

 before, and then trim the blade of the leaf away, leaving a sniall portion, about 

 two or three inches in diameter, adhering to the stalk. These we insert round 

 the edges of the cutting-pots, in exactly the same way as an ordinary cutting. 

 It is not advisable to keep these cuttings too close, or give them too much water, 

 for both conditions, either together or separately, are sufficient to cause them to 

 rot. When they are nicely rooted, and the young plants are formed, pot off into 

 sixties, and grow them liberally until the end of September, when they must have 



