August 14, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



391 



Lilies to go to seed will get more and better flowers the next 

 season. The California Lilies are among the first to bloom 

 here. We believe L. Washitigtonianiim and L. ColiiDibiamiin 

 are the earliest of these. L. Hiiinboldtii is also an early species. 

 These plants seem to require a good deal of time to establish 

 themselves. We find that unless the bulbs are set very early 

 they seldom flower before the second year. Last fall, just 

 before winter, we planted some of the largest and finest bulbs 

 of L. Washingt07iianicm we ever saw. Not one of them has 

 flowered, and only a small fraction of them have come up at 

 all. 

 Charlotte, vt. F. H. Horsford. 



Root Cuttings. 



'X'HIS easy method of propagation may be used to advantage 

 ■'■ with a number of plants, and in many cases will be found 

 superior to the usual system of cuttings of the top growth in 

 producing more shapely plants, resembling seedlings in habit 

 of growth. It will also be found that a larger number of 



growers on the ground that the plants so produced prove 

 more floriferous than those from cuttings of the roots. In the 

 case of the double varieties, there is also some risk of reverting 

 to the original form from which they have been derived when 

 propagated from the roots. From an ;esthetic point of view 

 this would not be a misfortune, as the single-flowered form of 

 either variety is undoubtedly far more beautiful than the 

 double. 



The preparation and planting of root-cuttings of the few- 

 species mentioned above are very simple operations, and but 

 little experience is necessary to make them successful. In the 

 first place strong roots should be selected and detached from 

 the parent plant without lieing bruised or crushed, after which 

 they should be cut into pieces about one and a half to two 

 inches in length, and dil)bled into the pots or pans prepared 

 for them. These pots should be well supplied with drainage, 

 about one-third the depth of the vessel being a good propor- 

 tion, and on this a layer of light soil should be placed, and the 

 filling concluded with a layer of clean sharp sand, in which 

 the cuttings are to be placed at such a depth as to entirely 





^v^- 





Tile House of Florence Nightingale at Lea Hurst. — See page 387. 



young plants may be raised in a given time by means of root- 

 cuttings than of top-cuttings among certain species, as, for 

 instance, several varieties of Aralia, top-cuttings of which 

 require a considerable time to root, and frequently refuse to 

 start into growth for some time after rooting. Probably the 

 most satisfactory varieties of Aralia for the amateur grower to 

 experiment with in the matter of root-cuttings are A.papyrifera 

 and A. Sieboldii, both of which are readily increased in this 

 manner. Many of the Clerodendrons can also be propagated 

 in quantity by the same plan, and, these plants being naturally 

 vigorous in root, a supply of root-cuttings is very easy to pro- 

 cure, and seldom fails to give a crop of young plants. As to 

 varieties, it may be added that Clerodendron Thonipsonii, C. 

 splendens and C. speciosuui are easy to multiply in this way. 



Some of the AUamandas, for example, A. Hendersonii and 

 . A. Schottii^ may also be propagated in this way, and, being of 

 rapid and easy growth, the young plants soon become large 

 enough to flower. It is hardly necessary to call attention to 

 the fact that many of the Bouvardias (B. jasminoides is not of 

 that class) may be propagated in this manner, though the old 

 method of soft-wood cuttings has been again adopted by many 



cover them. The pots or pans should then be put in a house 

 where they can receive some bottom heat (about 75° to 80° 

 being sufficient), and watered enough to keep them damp. 

 If these conditions are maintained, the young plants will most 

 likely be pushing through the surface in from three to four 

 weeks, and will soon be ready to pot oft'in the same manner as 

 other cuttings. 



This operation may be performed at any time of the year, 

 but is usually most successful during the summer months, 

 most of the plants mentioned above being in full growth at that 

 season, and therefore the cuttings start away sooner, and give 

 a greater percentage of plants than when put in during the 

 winter. In the latter season, too, the cuttings are much more 

 likely to damp off. 



Holmesburg, Pa. ^^^- H. TapUn. 



Diplarrliena Moraea, offered this year as a novelty by Mr. W. 

 Bull, the English nurseryman, is not likely to be very popu- 

 lar, becauseits flowers are not of long dm-ation (lasting only a 

 day at most), and they -are not numerous enough to satisfy 

 the very large number of persons who want their plants to 



