December, 1913 



Have sofiK' line wire "hairpins'" (none 

 ol the family will nsc thick enough 

 wire), ready for pinning down the 

 !uiot« after the cuts are made. These 



II make yourself. Lengths of wire 

 mrned on one end like a shepherd's 

 crook will do as well as pins. 



Now set ahout making the cut in the 

 >tcni. Do this with a sharp knife 

 tlirough a joint at a distance that will 

 lot the hending he done without break- 

 ing the stem. Where the piece of grow- 

 th sits nicely in the soil will do. Don't 

 tut through the joint. Halfway in. and 

 I lion a third of an inch along the shoot 

 will do all that is required. Be careful 

 in handling the stem now, or you will 

 break it off. Put a pin on either side 

 if the cut, to keep the shoot firmly in 

 the ground, and then build the soil 

 round and over the part. Use damp soil 

 if possible, as this is no trouble to 

 moisten. Stuff that is too dry is diffi- 

 cult to saturate. Go round all the plants 

 \(iu wish to propagate in the above way, 

 working carefully and cleanly, and you 

 will soon have an increase in the car- 

 nation stock. Keep groimd contin- 

 ually moist. 



Old plants with very dry limbs and 

 little new grass had better not be used. 

 \'igorous healthy stock layers best. One 

 year old plants should not be layered, 

 unless you are trying carnation growing 

 for shows. All the sorts do better as 

 two year old plants. When we say "do 

 better," we mean they make better 

 growth and bigger plants, and conse- 

 quently flower more freely. The year- 

 ling carnation, when restricted to a few 

 stems with a bud or two or each, pro- 

 duces the best show blooms. Layering 

 is done to increase your stock, not to as- 

 sist in the improvement of the plants 

 themselves. 



4 



Pansies and Violas from 

 Cuttings. 



In any large bed of seedlings in full 

 bloom, I mean of course those grown 

 ' from first-class seed, look at each one 

 I individually, and I guarantee you will 

 find amongst their number at least 

 half a dozen, of which you will make 

 the remark that you have never be 

 fore seen the like of. You let them 

 all go to the rubbish heap at clearing 

 up time, and next year you look for 

 -■ repetition of these plants amongst 

 , your new seedlings, in vain, and then 

 'i you say, "Oh, wish I had kept some 

 cuttings last year.' ' A further reason 

 in favour of cuttings is that those 



taken from seedlings ( f the provi<n»s 

 year give I'liior flowers the ensuing 

 MuiiiiH-r season. Cuttings, which 

 should bo taken from the old plants 

 with little portions of the root at- 

 tached, a bed of sandy soil and leaf 

 mould should be made, and stamped 

 together firmly in a not too open 

 place. Insert the cuttings at least 

 ■J in. apart. Provide a moveable 

 Iramc, but do not cover except on 

 hot days, but leave exposed to full 

 light and air, and keep the soil mode- 

 rately moist, but not drenched, or 

 I lie cuttings will rot off. In autumn 

 plant out in permanent positions, 

 and the fine display of fine large early 

 blossoms will more than repay any 

 trouble you may have taken. — F.J. 



♦ 



Mulches and When to 

 Apply Them. 



The summer mulching of various 

 plants is an important phase of 

 gardening, yet it is one that there 

 seems to be a good deal of confusion 

 over, more particularly in the minds 

 of amateurs. At the outset of these 

 notes it may be as well to consider 

 the object of mulching during the 

 summer months, and this may be 

 briefly summed up in the following 

 sentence: — For the preservation of 

 moisture in the soil and, in some in- 

 stances, the providing of. food for the 

 plants. Then the substance of which 

 the mulch is composed must be con- 

 sidered, and there can be little doubt 

 that the best is short, partly decayed 

 stable farmyard manure. Even a 

 mulch of fine soil will frequently be 

 of considerable advantage. Having 

 thus decided why mulching should be 

 done, and the best material for the 

 work, we may now consider when the 

 mulch should be applied, and to what 

 crops it is likely to be of especial 

 benefit. There is no doubt whatever 

 that the majority of mulches are ap- 

 plied far too early in the season, i.e., 

 before the soil has become thoroughly 

 warmed by the sun, with the result 

 that the roots are kept in a cold 

 medium for a considerablly longer 

 period than they would be were the 

 mulching material withheld for a 

 time. Again, it is useless putting on 

 a mulch to preserve moisture when 

 the soil is in a comparatively dry con- 

 dition. These two points fully grasp- 

 ed, the beginner is not likely to go 

 far wrong; he will know that the 

 mulch must not be put on until the 



soil is tlu>ri)UKbly warmed, but un- 

 less artificial watering is intended, be- 

 fore the spring rains have been 

 evaporated. 



Next conies the question — To what 

 plants may the mulch be given with 

 advantage? Generally speaking, all 

 newly planted trees and shrubs 

 derive great benefit from a mulch 

 intelligently employed, and the same 

 remark applies to herbaceous plants 

 where the soil is of a rather sandy 

 character. Then there are plants 

 which naturally delight in a moist 

 rootrun, and these will very much 

 enjoy any attention given them in 

 this respect. To whatever plants it 

 is applied, however, it is wise to 

 keep the manure from coming into 

 actual contact with the stems; in 

 many cases it may not do any harm, 

 but sometimes serious injury is 

 caused, and it is best to err on the 

 safe side. 



♦ 



An Interesting Plant. 



The wild rice of Canada (Zizania 

 aquatica) is an annual aquatic plant, 

 growing only in fresh water, and its 

 seeds, notwithstanding the numerous 

 cereals that are now cultivi'<.i. cvrn 

 to-day form the chief farinaceous 

 food for 30,000 North American 

 Indians. It is described as a remark- 

 able, useful, and when in full blossom, 

 a strikingly handsome grass, every 

 stem being crowned with a large 

 panicle of flowers, 1^4 ft. to 2 ft. 

 long, and about two-thirds as much 

 wide. The male flowers are confined 

 to the lower part of the panicle in 

 graceful, arching racemes, the female 

 to the upper part on stiffer ones. Apart 

 from any economic value it may 

 possess, this plant is certainly worthy 

 of cultivation for its beauty alone in 

 shallow ponds and ornamental tanks. 

 When grown in good soil, it forms a 

 most stately grass, with stems stand- 

 ing 9 ft. to 12 ft. above the water, 

 with narrow, pointed leaves from 

 2 ft. to 4 ft. long, 2 in. to 2^ in. 

 wide, and of a deep, vivid green 

 colour. Exclusive of its utility as a 

 seed or rice-bearer for the human 

 species who inhabit the country 

 where it grows wild, the sweetness 

 and' nutritious quality of the seeds 

 attract an infinite number of wild 

 fowls of every kind, which flock from 

 distant climes to enjoy the rare re- 

 past, and by it become inexpresibly 

 fat and delicious. White men where- 

 ever the plant grows highly esteem 



