General Notices. 193 



down, in pots : I then fill the pots with rather moist earth, without pressing 

 it in, leaving the wound alone uncovered. I leave them twenty-four or 

 thirty-six hours, and sometimes more, in this position, until the superabun- 

 dant matter which they contain is thrown off. I then wash the wound with 

 a sponge, and the cutting takes root more or less easily, in proportion as the 

 wound is clean. I know no tree from which we may make cuttings in the 

 open air, with herbaceous shoots, without a bell-glass : but those herbaceous 

 plants which have some appearance of wood, such as the Pelargonium, Ge- 

 ranium, Cineraria, and Calceolaria, may be made to strike without heat, and 

 under the shade of a wall. These cuttings are shaded with straw mats 

 during the day : however, they always succeed best in a cool frame. In 

 order to make the plants which I have just named strike by cutting, we 

 commonly take the extremities of the branches after flowering. The soil 

 which suits them best is peat mixed with well-rotted animal or vegetable 

 mould. Among Roses, the China being the hardiest, is propagated by cut- 

 tings, in peat soil, with wood one year old : the other sorts strike in a hot- 

 house, and under a bell-glass, for which purpose, choice should be made of 

 herbaceous shoots, taken from plants which have themselves been kept in a 

 greenhouse. — {Id. p. 116.) 



Cultivation of Cinerarias. — In order to insure fine plants of these, the 

 very first step of the cultivator should be to cut all the bloom off his speci- 

 mens directly they are past their prime. This done, remove the surface 

 mould in the pots, replace it with a little light soil, and remove the plants 

 into an open shady spot. There let them remain until they have thrown 

 out fresh healthy shoots from the bottom. When this is the case, break the 

 old stools up, and pot off the best pieces into small 60-sized pots, and place 

 them in a cool frame, shifting them into larger pots as they require it. 

 Give them the shift into the blooming-pots in November, and place them in 

 the greenhouse. The soil most suitable for them is a mixture of mellow 

 friable loam, old cow-dung, and fibrous peat, in equal parts, with the addi- 

 tion of a portion of sharp silver sand: this compost should be unsifted, and 

 the pots well drained. Water with judgment : freely, without soddening. 

 The Cineraria being particularly subject to green-fly, it is essential to the 

 production of well-grown and healthy specimens to rid the plants of these 

 pests. Fumigate, therefore, whenever a green-fly makes its appearance. 

 When, in January, the flower-buds appear, pinch them out until the plants 

 have become bushy. If any of the shoots flag, and if this cannot be ac- 

 counted for by the action of the sun after cloudy weather, or from want of 

 water, examine the roots near the surface carefully, as this plant is subject 

 to the attacks of an insect similar to that which infests the roots of the Let- 

 tuce, Dandelion, &c. Should its presence be detected, try experiments for 

 its destruction, and communicate the results. — {Id. p. 85.) 



Moss a protective material from Frost. — For several years, I have used 

 moss, gathered from the woods, to protect my China, Bourbon, and other 

 Roses, from frost: and, from recent experience, am so firmly convinced of 

 its benefieial effects, that I feel the information cannot be too widely spread. 

 My practice has been to place round each plant a quantity of moss, in the 

 VOL. XI. NO. V. 25 



