48 PBAGTICAL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS 



used. The surface should be slightly and evenly covered with white 

 paint (Continental growers like yellow) and written upon while still 

 damp. With the sharpened end of the label pointing to the left, the 

 generic name should be written above the specific. The date of sowing 

 should also be recorded, and to prevent it becoming obliterated by being 

 pushed too far into the soil, this is best done on a space ruled off by a 

 line at the top of the label. Several labels may be ruled at once, and 

 there is nothing lost by a little neatness and clearness in writing. 

 When special seeds are sown, the name of the sender, country &c. are 

 worth while recording. Where many kinds of seeds are sown, it will 

 be interesting to note how much longer it takes some seeds to germinate 

 than others under equal conditions. 



In the Plower Border and Eock Garden it must be admitted that 

 labels often look far from picturesque, especially when the plants they 

 represent have disappeared perhaps for ever. In such cases they have 

 not inaptly been termed tombstones, and should be removed when all 

 hope of the plant beneath the surface is abandoned. 



On the whole, however, a good case can be made out for labels in 

 the flower garden, whether of wood or zinc, especially when many species 

 are grown, unless one has an extraordinary memory. In the case 

 of deciduous herbaceous plants labels mark the spot in winter and 

 prevent the plant being accidentally uprooted and thrown away. The 

 size of the label, however, should always be more or less in proportion 

 to the size of the plant, as nothing looks more ridiculous than to see a 

 tiny plant an inch or two high hidden behind a label a foot long and 

 2-3 in. broad. ^ 



2, Propagation by Cuttings 



Perhaps there is no operation in which the amateur gardener takes 

 so keen a delight as in increasing any choice plant in his stock by the 

 readiest means, and sometimes by unusual means, for the sake of ex- 

 periment. Apart from increasing plants by the natural method of 

 sowing seed, that of making cuttings is most popular, and many 

 amateurs whose enthusiasm knows no bounds endeavour to make a new 

 plant out of every part of an old one, whether suitable or not. As a 

 rule, these enthusiasts make the best gardeners, as every failure is a 

 lesson, and the more failures they can reckon the greater the extent of 

 their knowledge. 



Cuttings consist of detached portions of a plant — either root, stem, 

 or leaves — from which separate and distinct plants with roots of their 

 own are obtained, and lead an independent existence. Although some 

 plants are more difficult than others to raise from cuttings, it may be 



