-CARNATIONS. 249 



taking care not to peel the stem. Begin an in- 

 cision on the under side of the shoot a little below 

 the second joint from the top, and cut upwards till 

 the joint is slit in the middle. Set the pointed 

 extremity made by the slit into the bottom of the 

 excavation, and there fix it with the peg; place the 

 head of the shoot erect, fill in the earth, make it 

 firm, and finish the work with a good watering. 

 The young plants will be ready for removal by the 

 end of autumn, when they may be set in flowerpots 

 if the soil is too damp and apt to cause rotting in 

 winter ; but if sufficiently dry the layers may re- 

 main to spring, and it will be of use before winter 

 to earth them up, sloping and beating the mould 

 about them so as to throw off the rain. 



Although the propagation of this plant by pip- 

 ings (as the grass shoots taken off and stuck in the 

 ground are called) is by no means so sure as the 

 above method, yet of a number some will take root, 

 and as pipings are more easily procured than plants, 

 the experiment may be made. If carried to some 

 distance, steep the slips in water till they swell to 

 their proper size; trim them as above directed and 

 set them firm into old elastic compost; water plen- 

 tifully, and set over them a handglass, first throw- 

 ing water on the glass and then earth to darken it, 

 and let it not be stirred for some days, it being found 

 that a deficiency both of light and air promotes the 

 striking of slips probably on this principle that 

 the sick, having no appetite, must avoid the exer- 

 tion which requires food as well as that which food 

 requires. 



