cut the fronds. The plants that have been kept in the city stores 

 for probably two or three weeks have suffered in every way, and 

 when propagating from such stumps I found they had a tendency 

 to rot. By cutting through a couple of the eyes you are generally 

 able to tell whether the stumps are in good, healthy condition for 

 propagating. At times, however, you are able to get good stumps 

 from the stores; but you can rely more upon those you have got 

 at home. 



A common mistake is to propagate from sickly, bull-headed 

 plants, and cuttings of such plants seldom amount to much. An- 

 other mistake is to select the strongest and heaviest eyes that can 

 be found. They are generally from old, over-fed plants, and 

 when you get them in the propagating bed they rot rather than 

 sprout; if they come they will throw such a heavy leaf that it is 

 hard to get nice symmetrical plants in 5-inch pots. They will, 

 however, make good specimen plants in 6 and 8-inch pots. The 

 best eyes are the medium-sized ones with red tops. Some people 

 grow Farleyense so poorly that their plants are not good for 

 propagating, and buying stumps ought to work well in such cases 

 if good ones can be obtained. 



To be successful in propagating, a place in the greenhouse 

 should be selected with good bottom heat ; or a regular propagat- 

 ing bed will serve the purpose well, especially if it is in a west- 

 side house. Some people prefer putting the cuttings in a sand 

 bed and handling them like cuttings of other plants. Others use 

 flats filled with peat and moss, the cuttings being placed on top 

 of this mixture about an inch apart and slightly covered with the 

 same. This seems a pretty good method, but there is difficulty 

 in taking up the plants after they are rooted ; besides, they do not 

 make as strong roots as are produced in the sand. I have been 

 most successful with flats about two inches deep, with a layer 

 of rough clinkers or ashes in the bottom and an inch covering of 

 coarse sand. After the stumps have been thoroughly cleaned by 

 washing, or by shaking of the soil, the cuttings should be sep- 

 arated to single eyes either by breaking them carefully apart 



