Leaf Mould 



(4) 



Leaf Boilers 



how freely it has eaten of the leaf substance. To 

 secure immunity from leaf miners in such crops as 

 Celery, Parsnips, Marguerites, etc., preventive 

 measures must be taken, and the best of these 

 is spraying with kerosene emulsion or a quassia 

 solution. Either of 'these; if ' sprayed over the 

 foliage at intervals during spring, summer, and 

 early autumn, will make the leaf surface distasteful 

 to the egg depositing insect. (See also CELERY 

 FLY, HOLLY LEAF FLY, RAPSBEURY LEAF MISER, 

 and TURNIP PESTS.) 



LEAF MOULD. 



Leaf mould, or leaf soil as it is sometimes called, 

 is regarded by the successful cultivator as indis- 

 pensable to the full development of many pot 

 plants, and of the utmost value in the raising of 

 seedlings, and cuttings. Young feeding roots of 

 most plants quickly permeate leaf mould, which 

 presents to them a natural and easily assimilable 

 food. The best leaf mould is obtained from the 

 decomposed leaves of deciduous trees, especially 

 Oak, Elm, and Beech. Leaves from evergreen trees 

 do not make good leaf mould. The leaves should 

 be collected as soon as they commence to fall, and 

 a pen should be ready for their reception. The 

 latter should be convenient to the potting shed. 

 When the first frost has arrived it is good practice 

 to turn the mass over into the end of the pen from 

 which the decomposed leaves of a preceding year 

 have been used. By some such method as this a 

 constant supply is secured. It is neither necessary 

 nor desirable to store leaves under a roof, as rain 

 will aid decomposition ; but hurdles or wire netting 

 will be needed to prevent newly collected leaves 

 being blown away. Leaf mould is an early form 

 of humus, and when it is remembered that the 

 fertility of soil is largely measured by the percent- 

 age of humus (decomposed organic matter) it 

 contains, the value of fallen leaves can be gauged. 



LEAF PROPAGATION. 



Propagation by leaves |is one of the most inter- 

 esting phases of gardening art, but it is at the 

 same time a limited one. To the gardener, and 

 especially to the nurseryman, it is of the greatest 

 possible value to know that certain plants may be 

 increased by leaf propagation. Begonias and 

 Gloxinias are the subjects increased most exten- 

 sively by leaf propagation, and the methods 

 necessary to secure success are described under 

 each head. It should, however, be stated as a 

 general principle that leaf propagation is most 

 easy and profitable in early autumn, when the 

 leaves are fully developed but have not begun to 

 turn yellow. 



The commonest method of procedure is to cut 

 through the mid-rib and principal veins and then 

 peg the leaf on the surface of some sandy soil, or 

 on Cocoanut fibre refuse. If soil and atmosphere 

 are kept moist and a brisk heat is maintained, 

 buds will soon form at the cuts, and when these 

 make tiny plantlets, they may be put into small 

 pots of sandy compost and kept under a bell-glass 

 or hand-light in the propagating house until large 

 enough for transference to other pots. Begonias, 

 Bertolonias, Gloxinias, Streptocarpuses, and many 

 Gesnerads can be easily increased in this way. 



Almost all succulent plants with distinct leaves, 

 such as Echeverias, Gasterias, Sempervivums, etc., 

 can be propagated from leaves, but when the latter 

 are removed from the parent, they must be laid on 

 a sunny shelf for a few days.-until the bases are 



dry. After this, place them .in pans of sandy soil 

 in an intermediate temperature, but do not give 

 water until new growth follows the formation of 

 roots and buds. Bryophyllum calycinum is even 

 more ready to reproduce itself from leaf buds, but 

 in its case the buds are- formed along the margins 

 of the leaf. Pinguicula leaves should have their 

 bases just inserted in sand or sandy soil, but 

 obliquely, so that the leaf blade rests on the 

 surface of 'the soil. Quite a number of Ferns have 

 this reproductive power and consequently are 

 deserving of mention here ; all viviparous or 

 bulbiferous fronds, if pegged down on sandy soil 

 and kept moist, will give a large yield of tiny 

 plants ; Aspleniums, Woodwardias, Aspidiums, and 

 Fadyenias are especially prolific. The scales that 

 make up a Lily bulb are simply fleshy leaves capable 

 of storing plant food, and attached to a severely 

 shortened stem ; if separated and inserted by the 

 base in a sandy compost, and placed in a warm 

 greenhouse, they soon root and produce tiny bud- 

 like bulbs. 



It is interesting to note here, that the leaves of 



LEAF PROPAGATION OF GLOXINIAS. 



A, leaf: a, part to be inserted. B, leaves inserted round side 

 of pot : 6, drainage ; ' c, small stones or moss ; d, rough 

 soil; e, fine soil. C, "bulb" from leaf cutting. D, leaf 

 with the midribs notched. E, leaves laid on soil. F, 

 "bulbs" forming. 



several plants will root freely enough in a propa- 

 gating case and remain fresh for a long time, but will 

 never make buds ; one of the best examples of this, 

 peculiarity is seen in Hoya carnosa. 



LEAF ROLLERS. 



This title does not apply to the lame of any 

 particular genus of insects, but to all such as have 

 the habit of making comfortable tubular dwellings 

 for themselves by rolling up a leaf of the plant 

 they affect. The roll is .kept in tubular form by 

 means of silky threads, fixed in place by the larva, 

 as it proceeds with its house building. Under this 

 cover the pests eat away the leaf substance, or 

 suck out the plant juices. The chief leaf rollers 

 are the larvae of species of Tortrix, but the larva; of 

 Sawflies and of Gall Midges are sometimes equally 

 guilty. They are difficult pests to deal with when, 

 in position, consequently preventive measures such 

 as the removal of surface soil during winter, to 

 destroy chrysalids, and spraying subjects liable to. 

 infestation, during spring and summer, with those 

 insecticides which render the foliage distasteful to 

 the pests should be adopted. Trees and shrubs 

 infested' with leaf rollers may be relieved by^ 

 sharply tapping the stem and brandies, as the 

 larvae usually come out of the rolls if danger is; 

 apparent, and lower themselves to the ground by 



