922 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Pari III. 



of hard or very tough shelled seeds, some have them soaked in water for a few days, say a week, or even 

 ten days, for such as happen to be very dry, previous to sowing : a shallow pan, placed on the coolest part 

 of the flue in the propagation-stove, is the readiest and safest article to receive them for this purpose j they 

 should be examined daily, and sown the moment any sign of swelling or growth appears : this process, 

 however, is fraught with danger to many of the lighter and smaller sorts. 



6674. The sowing being finisJicd, the pots must be set on a level spot, and gently, but thoroughly watered 

 witli a pot, the rose of which has been made particularly fine, for this and other such uses; and immedi- 

 ately plunged in a strong heat, without which they will not be likely to vegetate : if a close dung hot-bed 

 the better. A regular but moderate watering, steady heat, and occasional weeding, should any such ap- 

 pear, is all they will now require until they are fit to be removed into separate pots ; which may be done 

 as soon as they have attained a few inches' growth above their cotyledons, or seed-leaves. There are some 

 fruit, such as nelumbium, whose exterior coat is so very hard that' the embryo plants are not able to burst 

 through, at least, with us; to remedy which, the knife is not unfrequently used to pare them thin, even 

 to making a hole in them, but not too near the eye or part where they sprout, with good effect. If the busi- 

 ness of seed-sowing is performed in spring, or early in summer, the smaller sorts may be expected to ve- 

 getate in the course of five or six weeks at farthest ; whereas, the larger bony kinds will sometimes 

 remain dormant in the earth for the space perliaps of twelve months : this must be attended to, else one 

 might think them beyond a chance of growing, and perhaps tlirow them away without examination. 

 Whenever there is any doubt of their vegetating, let some of them be taken up and opened with a knife ; 

 when they will at once discover whether they are sound or not ; if sound, they must be still kept in a 

 strong heat, and regularly watered as before ; for want of this simple precaution, valuable seeds are often 

 carelessly thrown on the rubbish-heap, when just bursting'their shell or embryo ; and not unfrequently, by 

 that accidental check, are so materially injured as to prevent more than one half of them vegetating again j 

 if they have been at all so fortunate as to be noticed and resowed. {Exotic Gard. p. 8.) 



6675. By cuttings. Besides the usual supply of the different sorts of earth, &c. there 

 is another article necessaiy to be provided before we begin the business of making cut- 

 tings ; which is, a few dozen of small bell-glasses, (the white glass is best,) of as many 

 different sizes as are the pots in which the cuttings arc intended to be planted ; they 

 should be fitted to the pot, so as to rest on the inner side of it, about an inch below the 

 rim ; by observing which circumstance, when the pot is filled with earth, the glass will 

 have room sufiicient to sink a little into it, so as to perfectly exclude the external air ; of 

 very essential importance to the cutting while in a donnant state, that is, from the time 

 they are put in until they begin to grow. 



6670. The cuttings may be made almost every season of the year ; yet the months of April, May, and 

 June are certainly the most proper ; as the plants are at that season plentifully supplied with young wood, 

 which, in most species, produce" roots when made into cuttings, much sooner than the old wood will if 

 used in the same manner. "When the day is fixed upon for this business, let a quantity of pots of the pro- 

 per size be selected, and prepared by covering their bottoms to the depth of one or two inches with pot- 

 sherds ; and then, as wanted, about half filled with the compost best suited to the plant intended to be 

 propagated, to grow in for a few weeks, when first struck, and the remaining part with the best loam that 

 can be procured, to insert the cutting in when ready. On the purity and clearness of the loam depends 

 in a great measure the success of many of the tenderer kinds of cuttings, particularly those which are 

 obliged to be kept in moist heat, as it is, when contaminated with other composts, very liable in these situ- 

 ations to cause damp and rottenness, by the particles of putrefying matter generally contained in mixed 

 earths ; and the properties of which are put in motion, by the application of heat. As an exception to this 

 rule, may be adduced sand ; which is of very greg.t utility to mix with the loam, should it happen to be 

 rather stiff for the nature of the cutting: but then, the sand proper for this use is of so pure a nature in 

 itself, that it is evident it cannot have the effect noticed above in regard to mixed soils. 



6677. In the choice of cuttings, preference should be given to the firmest wood of the same year's growth j 

 and of these, only such whose leaves have attained their full size and proper color, which are generally to 

 be selected from the lateral shoots ; as the upright leading ones are mostly too luxuriant to make good 

 cuttings. The cuttings of many plants, if taken from the lateral sh^iots, never become proper erect stems j 

 but are inclined at all times to form an irregular, bushy, weak head : this is not of small importance to 

 such collectors as cultivate plants merely for the flower; as such heads generally produce them sooner 

 than luxuriant leaders. The lovers of handsome erect plants, however, choose their cuttings from the 

 upright shoots, early in the season, before they acquire that luxuriance of growth so unfit for the purposes 

 of propagation. The tops of the shoots are to be preferred, unless they happen to flag before used. To 

 prepare them for insertion, most of the leaves must be trimmed off close to the stem, leaving only a few at 

 the top, to allow a free respiration of the air necessary to the life of the plant. This is a most essential 

 article in the art of making cuttings, particularly those of evergreens ; for if they are deprived entirely of 

 their leaves, or that they otherwise flag, or occasionally fall off soon after they are put in, there will be 

 little or no chance of their growing. The reason is obvious, because the inherent sap of the cutting, 

 being deprived of these organs of respiration that kept it in motion, and the cutting having no roots by the 

 efforts of which to produce new leaves, the sap, consequently, becomes stagnated in the pores of the wood ; 

 which, like the stagnation of the blood in animals, will in all likelihood prove mortal, by occasioning an 

 immediate mortification. 



6678. In shortening each cutting to the most convenient length, care must be taken to do it with a clean 

 cut, in a transverse direction at a joint ; and by no means should they be left exposed, or to lie any consi- 

 derable time before planted. In planting, a small dibble or other convenient instrument should be used to 

 press the loam sufficiently tight to the base of the cutting, as that is the principal part to be made fast ; as 

 soon as the whole are inserted and the surface of the mould made level and a little firm, give them a gentle 

 watering to settle them ; they should be left to soak about a quarter of an hour, and then covered with a 

 bell-glass, which should be pressed pretty tight, so as perfectly to exclude the outward air. The atmo- 

 spheric air being prevented by the glass from exhaling any of the juices of the plant, all its powers are 

 forced downward to produce roots, and these will soon prove their existence by producing young leaves 

 and branches. If there are several cuttings of the same sort, they may be all put in one pot, unless they 

 happen to be very large or curious sorts ; but in general each species should be kept in a separate one, on 

 account of the difference in time that some of thera require to strike roots ; and also, thatany scarce or va- 

 luable kind should be put only one in a small pot, as they then are not liable to be injured so much by damp ; 

 neither do they require to go through the precarious operation of separate potting, so soon after being 

 struck. Should it be requisite to have a considerable quantity of cuttings made at the same time, it would 

 be proper to have a one-light frame, with close glasses, placed on a moderate hot-bed, ready to receive 

 them. It should be covered with sawdust or clean tan, about a foot deep, in which to plunge the pots : 

 but if there are only a few done, they may be plunged in any frame among other things, provided there 

 is a moderate heat. 



6679. Wateriiig and shading. They will now require the most particular attention as to watering and 

 shading. The water must be given twice or thrice very moderately until the earth becomes sufBciently 

 moist, which, if once so, will retain the moisture for a length of time, by being covered ivith the glass : 

 but the shading is the principal care whenever the sim's rays fall on the glasses, as nothing will create rot. 



