PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 83 



brought down to the ground, and, when rooted, separated 

 from their parent. The materials needed for layering are a 

 sharp, small knife, a quantity of notched pegs, and some 

 finely-sifted soil. Choose a dull, cloudy day on which to 

 perform this work ; or, if the plants are in pots, they may 

 be layered in any weather. Begin by trimming off the 

 leaves from the bottom of a shoot, leaving the two upper- 

 most on, and entire. Trim off the lower leaves on every 

 shoot before layering one, because, when a layer is tongued, 

 it is easily broken off. When this is done, take hold of 

 the shoot, turn it up, and pass the knife blade through the 

 third joint upward, commencing the cut just below it ; then 

 reach a hooked peg, thrust it into the soil, catching hold, 

 by its hook, of the layer as it descends, and press it gently 

 down to the soil. Do the next in the same manner, and 

 so on until every shoot is layered, then cover them all with 

 the sifted mould, about three quarters of an inch deep, and 

 the process is completed ; then give a slight watering, and 

 the layers require no further care, but watering, until they 

 are rooted, which will be in about a month or six weeks. 

 When sufficiently rooted, pot them off into five-inch pots, 

 a pair in each ; or, if your space is limited, and the layers 

 email, three may be put into each pot. After they are 



