506 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



is found in the pollen powder encased in the stamens in flowers, and 

 the female organs are the style or pistil, which projects from the 

 centre of the flower. When the pollen powder is placed by the hand 

 of man on the point of the style or pistil that is cross fertilisation. If 

 the pollen be from the same flower or plant, or is placed on the pistil 

 by Nature, that is ordinary fertilisation. 



Cutting's. Whilst any slip or young portion of a plant may be 

 called a " cutting," yet for the specific purpose for which cuttings are 

 made, namely for propagation of plants, it is important to make them 

 properly. Cuttings are required to perform certain functions, and for 

 that purpose they are when made dibbled or set into sandy soil to a 

 moderate depth, so that one-third of their length is buried. That is 

 with the expectation that from the cutting-base roots will presently be 

 emitted and a new plant formed. But Nature insists that the base of 

 a cutting must be just beneath a leaf joint, so that in making a 

 cutting it must always have a suitable base or bottom. Two or three 

 of the lower leaves should also be removed. The sap stored in the 

 cutting is attracted by the warmth of the soil to the base, and a callus 

 is shortly formed over the cut base. Then follow roots, and the plant 

 can sustain itself. Were the base half an inch below a leaf joint that 

 portion would soon decay and the cutting die. 



Deciduous and Evergreen. Whilst some trees and shrubs shed 

 every leaf or stem in the early winter, and thus seem to go absolutely 

 to sleep or rest, others always carry their leafage, shedding old leaves 

 in the spring, but not before new leafage has been formed. This is 

 the distinction between what is known as deciduous and evergreen 

 vegetation. But there are far more trees and shrubs deciduous or 

 entire leaf shedders than there are evergreen ones. Of trees, the most 

 familiar of the evergreens are the Fir tribe, Yew, and Evergreen Oak. 

 Of shrubs, Holly, Laurel, Aucuba, and Rhododendron. Of deciduous 

 trees, Oak, Elm, Lime, Chestnut, and many others; and of shrubs, 

 Lilac, Flowering Currant, Philadelphus, or Mock Orange. The Ivy 

 is the best known evergreen climber, and the Virginian Creeper the 

 best known deciduous one. 



Dibbling. In the process of cropping a garden, a tool commonly 

 called a dibber, or dibble, is often used. It is specially so when 

 Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Broccoli, winter greens of all descriptions, 

 Lettuces, and many other things, including some flowering plants, 

 are put out from seed-beds or pans where they are to grow and mature. 

 The instrument is commonly made from the upper part of the handle 

 of a spade or fork that has been broken. Below the handle, the 

 pointed portion which is used for dibbling, that is, for making holes in 

 the ground for the roots of plants to be inserted, is about 12 inches 

 in length. The lower end or point is made sharp or pointed, and 

 should be shod with iron some 6 inches in length, as the work is more 

 satisfactory and the tool lasts longer. Potatoes are often planted with 

 a dibber, but in this case the implement is about 2\ feet long, has a 

 cross handle 1 2 inches long, and a base that is 3 inches broad, pointed, 



