12 



JOUBNAL OF HOETIOULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



[ July 5, 1877. 



Bose has been" inserted keep pushing! pinch them all off, in 

 order to throw as much vigour as possible into the inserted 

 bud, and am careful that no other shoots grow from the stock. 

 When the inserted buds have grown the length shown in fig. 7 

 I remove the tie. As I prefer to have blooms as soon as 

 possible I permit the inserted bud to grow as long as it will, 

 and am often rewarded with flowers the same season. In the 



following April I cut back this shoot, leaving only on it three 

 or four good buds, as shown in fig. 8." 



Cuttings.—" At no better time," says Mr. Luckhurst, " can 

 Eose cuttings be made than directly after the first or summer 

 bloom is past. Stout firm wood of the current year's'growth, 

 and which has carried a truss of bloom, should be selected for 

 cuttings, which, when made, should not be longer than 6 or 



Fiy/ 



7 in <>hee. This length will admit of two, and in close-jointed 

 wood of three eyes, with a portion of each leaf on the t upper 



Fig. R. Fig. 10. 



part of the cutting. A small portion of the old, or last year's 

 wood, must bejef cat the base of the cutting ] to form what is 



termed a heel as in fig. 9, which represents'part'of a'finished 

 cutting ready for inserting in the soil, fig. 10 showing the 

 branoh from which the cutting was taken. This heel is qui jkly 

 coated over by the callosity, which soon begins to form, and 

 from which the roots readily start." 



THE AQUILEGIA. 



I do not know whether Aquilegias should' be catalogued 

 amongst the neglected plants ; but this I do know, that it is 

 many years since I used to admire the fine clumps of Aquilegia 

 vulgaris of many colours, including the pure white variety, in 

 the cottagers' gardens in Scotland ; but even in country dis- 

 tricts the inevitable soarlet Geraniums and yellow Calceolarias 

 or Feverfew have usurped the place of the Btately Columbine. 

 Collections of herbaceous plants are not oomplete without the 

 addition of some of the different species of Aquilegia, and now 

 that many of the trade growers are forming collections we 

 shall see our old favourites taking the position whioh their 

 merits deserve. 



They are of the easiest culture, and may either be grown in 

 pots or planted out in the open border. I. have grown a goodly 

 number of species and varieties, but have found some of them 

 to be rather diffioult to manage. I had in the first place a 

 plant or two of each species, but will now only mention those 

 that are easily cultivated and which will be certain to flower 



