132 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



November, 191 4. 



Propagating tuberous begonias by division, showing the 

 divisions ready for potting up 



runner holding the young fern to its parents. These 

 runners are put off from the parent plant and soon 

 put forth roots, making a new plant, which should 

 be cut off and potted up. The large parent plant 

 may be divided also. As you hold it in your hand 

 you will see, perhaps, where it naturally makes two 

 or three ferns. Take a sharp knife and cut it into 

 these parts. You will not injure the fern at all 

 unless you make ragged cuts. The soil for these 

 new ferns, which lie on the bench before you, should 

 be a rich one. Mix together two parts of garden 

 soil, two parts of leaf-mold, one part of rotted 

 manure and one part of sand. This will make a 

 first-class soil for ferns. By division several new 

 plants are obtained from one large plant 



Leaf Cuttings. Perhaps the most fasci 

 nating of all the ways to propagate 

 plants is that of starting from leaf 

 cuttings. For this, use the leaves 

 of Rex begonia. Choose a large leaf 

 without any defects upon it, and 

 turn it upside down on a clean board. 

 Note the large veins; wherever two 

 such veins intersect make a cut. Use 

 a sharp knife and cut right through the leaf. 

 Pick up the leaf and lay it, under surface 

 down, on a moist sand bed. Lay some 

 pebbles here and there on the leaf so 

 that it will be held down close to the moist 

 sand. After a lapse of two or three weeks 

 roots will thrust their way down into the 

 sand from each leaf cut and little leaves 

 will appear from the upper surface. 

 When the leaves of these new plants are in 

 size about an inch, pinch out the little plant 

 from the mother leaf and pot it up. Use a 

 rather sandy soil for this, say one part gar- 

 den soil, one part rotted manure and two 

 parts sand. 



Stem Cuttings. Still another method of 

 propagation is that of stem cuttings. For 

 this work use old geranium plants, helio- 

 trope, verbena, fuchsia, Marguerite, pentstemon 

 and cuphea. 



Geranium cuttings should be made about four 

 inches long. Make a good clean cut between two 

 circles or nodes, either slantwise of the stem or 

 straight across it. Pick off all the leaves except 

 two or three terminal ones. Pinch out the ter- 

 minal bud if it shows a bit of color. Cuttings of the 

 other plants here mentioned should be only about 

 two inches in length. All cuttings may be put 

 into sand beds or started in pots in which is a very 

 sandy soil, one part garden soil to three of sand. 

 These cuttings root in from seven to ten days. For 

 the first few days, screen them from the sun's rays 

 by a newspaper covering. After they are rooted 

 pot them up in a soil made up of one part garden 

 soil to one of rotted manure and one of sand. 



In one of the pictures, note how the geranium 

 cuttings are first placed all about the edge of the 

 pot, and so on in. If two or three small cuttings, 

 like those of coleus, are potted up in 3-inch pots, 

 place them also about the edge of the pot, the 

 centre space being left as room for the plant as it 

 develops. Watch the coleus, for lice may appear 

 on the undersides of the leaves or at the junctions 



of petiole and stem. As soon as the lice appear 

 get rid of them. 



Roots. Another satisfactory plant to try is 

 astilbe (the florists' spirea); buy the variety called 

 Gladstone. Astilbes are roots and come in clumps, 

 which may be broken or cut apart. At the same 

 time trim back the rootlets which straggle from the 

 root. These roots will probably require 8-inch 

 pots, or larger. The root system gets large and 

 quite fills the pot. After potting in a manner 

 similar to that suggested for callas, place in a cold- 

 frame or a cold room for a few weeks. The roots 

 must be well started and the tip, too, before bring- 

 ing into the warmth. These spireas are very 

 satisfactory, indeed. They are not used often in 

 school work, but there is no reason why they should 

 not be, because in the first place they require no 

 care in the potting; and secondly, they bloom freely 

 and make a fine showing. They could be raised 

 and used as decorations for the assembly halls. 



At the same time illustrate further by dividing 

 the roots of clumps of iris in the outdoor garden. 

 Dig up a plant of Iris germanica and show the need 

 for division. Cut apart the clumps, using a spade 

 if it is impossible to break them apart with the 

 hands. After division, these should be replanted. 



It would be excellent to follow on the work with 

 a division of aspidistra. To be sure spring is the 

 better time to separate these plants, and unless it 

 is to be part of a lesson I would not do this work until 

 the spring time. This will represent a division of a 

 rhizome. A rhizome is an underground stem giving 

 forth roots or leaves at certain points. This 

 underground stem, as it is called, may be on or 

 under the ground, but is prostrate. The rhizomes 

 are broken apart and 

 repotted; each one 

 gives a new plant. 



Plants of aspidistra ready for division, 

 may be broken apart 



The rhizomes 



Sandy Soil Possibilities 



An old plant of zonal pelargon- 

 ium before cuttings are made 



TPHESE are some interesting problems connected 

 A with sandy soil, and there is yet much to be 

 learned about its best management and its possi- 

 bilities for greater development. 



The soil about most seaboard cities is generally 

 of a sandy type, and market gardening is adopted 

 because of close proximity to markets, and also 

 because sandy soils will produce earlier and quicker 

 crops. 



The best vegetables are those that are rapidly 



grown, as when so grown they are more succulent, 



tender, and crisp. Sandy soil is more porous as- 



the particles or grains are coarser; therefore it 



becomes warm earlier in the spring, seeds germinate 



more quickly, and plants grow faster. The heavy 



clay or loam soils retain more water, and longer; 



and therefore carry a lower temperature. With 



sandy soil more fertilizers have to be used, both in 



the form of stable manure and chemicals, the 



former supplying humus, which retains and gives 



out moisture over a longer period, while 



the latter balances the plant food, in 



which stable manures are more or less 



deficient. 



Tree fruits are not so well suited to 

 sandy soil as to the clay or loam. Trees, 

 unlike vegetables, should make a slow 

 growth, that the wood and fruit buds may thoroughly ripen 

 and mature, to withstand low winter temperatures. Highly 

 fertilized sandy soil stimulates a too luxuriant growth of wood 

 in fruit trees. 



There are a few varieties of tree fruits that do very well 

 on a sandy soil that is naturally fertile. The peach leads, 

 and the most extensive orchards are growing on such soil and 

 on sandy loam. Try the varieties Carman and Champion. 



The apricot is also well 

 adapted to sandy soil; Harris 

 and Moor Park are excellent. 

 For early maturity of tree, 

 and for early markets, the 

 Red Astrachan, Red June 

 and Yellow Transparent 

 apples will give satisfactory 

 results. Winter varieties 

 grown on sandy soil have poor keep- 

 ing quality, and are deficient in flavor.. 

 Mcintosh might also be grown. 



While the plum does better in a 

 clay, yet the Abundance, Red June, 

 and Lombard varieties produce excel- 

 lent fruit when grown on a sandy soil. 

 The small fruits universally do well 

 on sandy soil. The strawberry, rasp- 

 berry, and blackberry, thrive and are 

 highly productive. 



Pears require the heavier type of soil;, 

 try Clapp's Favorite and Bartlett. The: 

 Kieffer, however, produces most pro- 

 digious yields on sandy land and has a. 

 higher flavor than when grown upon* 

 Plant cuttings about edge of clay soil. 



pot to gain space New York. GeORCE T. Powell. 



