638 General Notices. 



and clammy. "With a covering of tan, the operation may be continued through- 

 out the day, and even during wet weather. If the tan remain permanently, it 

 will require renewing every two vears. (D, Cameron, in Gai-d, C/iron., vol. i. 

 p. 101.) 



Paving Roads with India-Ritbber. — A patent has been taken out for 

 " covering roads, and other ways or surfaces, and also the tops or surfaces of 

 walls usually paved or covered, by the application of India-rubber (caout- 

 chouc) combined into blocks or slabs," by a stone merchant. It is well known 

 that India-rubber can be reduced to a soft and pasty state by grinding ; and it 

 seems that, while in this state, a quantity of charred sawdust is gradually 

 ground in along with the India-rubber. The mass thus formed is next pressed 

 in a mould, into which a quantity of strong rough sand has been put, so that 

 the surface of the block by means of this material may be adapted for resisting 

 the pressure of a road. The sizes of the blocks may be varied, but the patentee 

 considers blocks 12in. by 12in. by Sin. a proper size; for paving footpaths,blocks 

 or slabs of 1 in. are of a convenient thickness ; and for covering walls, he 

 makes the blocks about the size of ordinary bricks. In using such blocks for 

 paving, the road or way is to be brought to a proper surface, as if about to 

 be paved with blocks of other materials ; and the India-rubber blocks are to be 

 applied over such surfaces, and caused to adhere one to another by using India- 

 rubber cement. We are not aware of the cost of this mode of paving, but we 

 think it might answer for garden walks in some situations where gravel is want- 

 ing or bad, or on steep surfaces. 



Propagating Coniferous Plants hy Cuttings. — The following method of 

 striking the different kinds of pines from cuttings has been attended with con- 

 siderable success. In August or September, select a young shoot of moderate 

 strength, and cut it off with a piece of the last year's wood attached, forming 

 what is technically termed a heel. The leaves at the bottom of the cutting 

 should not be pulled off, but must either be left on entire, or shortened with a 

 sharp knife. When the cutting is made, it should be planted from a half to 

 three quarters of an inch deep in a pot, filled about one third with potsherds, 

 on which a layer of turfy peat should be placed, then 1 in. of good loam, 

 and on the top of all a layer of white sand. The loam prevents the cuttings 

 from cankering after they are rooted, which they are apt to do when planted 

 entirely in white sand. The pot of cuttings may now be placed in a cold- 

 frame, kept close, and shaded when necessary ; they may remain in this situ- 

 ation till the end of October, when they should be put in a cold-pit for the 

 winter; care must be taken at that season that they do not suffer from frost 

 or damp, but they must on no account have fire heat. About the end of 

 February the pot of cuttings may be removed to a hotbed, a bell-glass being 

 placed closely over it ; the cuttings will root readily, and many of them will 

 be fit to pot oiF by the end of June. When first potted off, the young plants 

 should be treated exactly in the same manner as the cuttings are. In the case 

 of junipers and cypresses, older wood than that used for pines is necessary', as 

 they have not sufficient strength to emit roots before the winter, and con- 

 sequently perish during that season, when only callous. If wood of two or 

 three years' growth be taken, it will be found hardy enough to stand the winter, 

 and, with the aid of artificial heat in spring, will root freely. (G. G'., in Gard. 

 Chron., vol. i. p. 363.) 



Stunted Ash Trees. — Ash trees which are stunted and hide-bound may be 

 rendered fine trees by heading them down. The saw should be applied first 

 above the point where the secondary branches diverge from the principal ones ; 

 indeed we may often observe, about this part and lower down, that nature is 

 even giving a kind of hint that she is prepared to second us, for tiie young 

 shoots which she annually sends forth from the stems of the branches would 

 immediately expand and form a new head. About two thirds of the entire 

 height is often a proper point at which to cut ; and in many a large tree most 

 of the branches divided will not exceed the thickness of a man's arm, so that 

 the wounds, considering they are in the most active part of the whole plant, 



