24 PLANT CULTURE 



7S degrees, serves for Nepenthes and other plants slow to root 

 under ordinary conditions. 



Division. Propagation by suckers, division, stolons and run- 

 ners is an easy matter, and each species so treated readily suggests 

 the means to be employed. Many plants difficult to propagate by 

 the usual methods of cuttings of the branches yield readily to cut- 

 tings made from the roots. The Moss Rose is a familiar example. 

 Clerodendron, Fatsia, Paulownia imperidis, Raspberry, Blackberry 

 and Xanthoceras all come freely from roots. Among the herbaceous 

 plants the roots of Anemone japonica and Lychnis vespertina, when 

 cut up quite small, will give plants from every piece. Indoor plants, 

 such as Manettia cordifolia and Cephcelis Ipecacuanha, will give 

 plants more readily by this method than any other. 



Seeds. The soil in which to sow seeds, especially that portion 

 of it which is near the surface, and in which there are weed seeds, 

 should be prepared beforehand so as to avoid the necessity of pull- 

 ing up the weeds and the consequent danger attending the opera- 

 tion of dislodging the seeds which we wish to germinate, especially 

 during the process of germination. The most natural method is 

 to spread the soil out on a flat surface in a hothouse and encourage 

 the weed seeds to germinate by the aid of heat and moisture. The 

 soil should be spread out quite shallow, and in a few days' time the 

 seeds that are likely to prove most troublesome will have germin- 

 ated. The weeds that one finds most noxious are quick in germin- 

 ating, and will be rendered harmless by this method. They are 

 principally Lamium, Planlago, Ragweed, Grasses, Draba, Anthemis, 

 Rumex, Portulaca, Acalypha, Oxatis and Trifolium; but the list 

 varies with different localities. Burning or steaming the soil is 

 often resorted to, but for seed sowing I prefer the other method as 

 more likely to rid the soil thoroughly of the common, troublesome 

 weeds. Soil intended for use in connection with raising Ferns from 

 spores should be treated even more carefully, in order to destroy 

 every vestige of vegetable life. To do this thoroughly the soil 

 should be boiled for a reasonable length of time, and afterward 

 dried in the sun. 



Seedlings which from their nature require pricking off (that is, 

 putting around the outer edge of the soil in pots, or in rows, in boxes) 

 shortly after the seed leaves are developed, should be raised in seed 

 pans which have at least half their depth devoted to drainage. 

 Most of this should consist of pieces of broken pots, or cincers, 

 covered over with some rough material, such as half-decaved 



