November 7, 



Garden and Forest. 



437 



tings should be put in so closely as to touch each other, arnl 

 a good watering- should be given to settle the sand well 

 around tliem. Tliey should then be placed on benches in a 

 cool house, where the temperature does not rise above 45"^ at 

 night, or ten to Ht'teen degrees higher during the day. In 

 sunny weather a slight syringing once or twice a day will be 

 needful, and they should be shaded if necessary. They 

 should be kept at this low temperature for one or two 

 months, or until well calloused, when the temperature can be 

 increased by 10°, and if a slight bottom heat can then lie given 

 it will hasten the rooting-. About the middle of April they 

 will, in most cases, be well rooted, and as soon as the weather 

 is settled they can be hardened off in frame.s with a slight pro- 

 tection, and if planted out in frames by the niiddle of iVIay, 

 they will be established by autumn, and will need no protec- 

 tion until the ground begins to freeze. Choice varieties, as 

 soon as tliey are roiitcil, should \n: li-aiisplanted into bi^xos n\ 



.Sciadopytis also roots well, though slowly. All varieties of 

 the Box can be treatecl in the same way as Conifers. /Ux 

 glabra and /. Aquifolimn root well from cutting's of the current 

 year's growth, and the iurmer can be put in at any tinie from 

 Noveniber till February ; but /. opaca should be put in early 

 in November and Icept in a close frame until well calloused, 

 which requires froni two to three months. Cuttings shoukl 

 be taken Irom a fruiting plant if the berries are an object, 

 and the same can be saitl of all plants of the Holly family. 



While most Conifers, except Pines, can be propagated rea- 

 sonably well from cuttings, stronger plants can be obtained 

 by grafting, but niany gardeners who do not liesitate to 

 graft the most tender plants seem afraid to niake the trial 

 with Conifers. With few e.xceptions they are easier to graft 

 than many hard-wood plants, although more tinie is required 

 to complete the union. In grafting, the first consideration is 

 tlic proper selection ami prepai-ation of stocks. TlieseshouUl 



Kio;. 69. — A white-flowered Cattleya Gigas. — See ])age 436. 



light soil, and grown during the summer imder glass. They 

 should be wintered in cold pits, and transplanted into beds the 

 following spring. Among the Conifers I have successfully 

 treated in this way are Thuya occidenfalis and its varieties, 

 Chamacyparis {Retinospora) obtitsa, C. pisifera, C. plumosa ami 

 and its varieties. Such Junipers as the Irish, Swedish, Douglas' 

 Golden and other varieties of common Juniper, J. Japonica 

 and some varieties of J . Virginiana; Picea nigra piunila, P. 

 excelsa Gregoriana, P. pungcns, P. Omorika and Abies concolor. 

 I find the best time to put in cuttings of most evergreens 

 is from the middle of November to the niiddle of January. 

 I have tried several himdred cuttings oi Picea pungens, giving 

 them every possible care, and yet lost all but two in a hun- 

 dred of them, while of those put in in January I have saved 

 fully one-half. In taking cuttings of Picea I find the smallest 

 wood the best. I have not been successful in propagating 

 varieties of the common Hemlock from cuttings, although 

 cuttings of Japanese Hemlock (Tsuga Sieboldii) root well. The 

 Ginkgo roots readily from hard or soft cuttings. 



be potted, if possible, inspring,and ijlungeil in a sheltered situ- 

 ation where they can be watered during the summer; and at the 

 approach of freezing weather, they should be put in a cool 

 cellar or pit where Ihey can be kept until needed. They 

 should be taken into the house two or three weeks before the 

 time of grafting, so that the sap may be well started. Where 

 the stocks have not been prepared in spring they can fie pot- 

 ted in October or Novemlier and put in a cool green-house, 

 wliere they should be syringed daily in fine weather and kept 

 in a temperature of not less than 50° at night, with a little 

 bottom heat, if possible. As soon as the new roots reach the 

 side of the pots the grafting may begin. 



But besides having the stocks in good condition, it is a mat- 

 ter of importance to know what kinds to select for the differ- 

 ent species and varieties. For all Firs, seedlings of Abies 

 pectinata or A. balsamea make the best stocks. For the 

 Spruces, the Norway is the best and most easily obtained, 

 although the White Spruce makes good stocks. It is, how- 

 ever, "more difficult to procure. The common Hemlock 



