377 



Second Batch. — Planted in the open ground on the 1st of Sep- 

 tember, and examined on the 1st of October : — 



Hardy Plants. 



Number of 

 cuttings 



with 

 collodion 

 applied. 



Name of plant. 



Number of 



cuttings 

 which took 

 root. 



Number of 

 cuttings with- 

 out the appli- 

 cation of col- 

 lodion. 



Number of 



cuttings 

 which took 

 root. 



12 





5 



12 



1 



12 





7 



12 



4 



18 





6 



18 







12 





10 



12 



7 



6 



Rose, Souvenir de la Malmaison... 



4 



6 



3 



12 



Taxus baccata, golden-leaved var. 



8 



12 



4 





Total number of 

 cuttings to which 

 collodion was 

 applied. 



Number of 

 cuttings which 

 took root. 



Total nxmiber of 

 cuttings without 

 the application 

 of collodion. 



Number of 

 cuttings which 

 took root. 



Second batch . . . 



59 

 72 



46 

 40 



59 

 72 



23 

 19 



The experiment, the author considers, speaks for itself. Not- 

 withstanding the season being too far advanced for the full benefit 

 of the process to be thoroughly observed, still twice as many cut- 

 tings took root treated by the new method as had rooted by the old. 

 The mortality in the open ground was increased by slugs having 

 eaten off above the soil some of the cuttings ; those thus damaged 

 were examined after they had been in the ground a month, and it 

 was found that the collodion was quite as sound as when first ap- 

 plied. It would therefore appear that the collodion seals the wound 

 of the cutting, and protects it from the fatal effects of damp, until 

 roots are prepared to force through the covering of gun-cotton. It 

 is further stated, that the application of this solution has been found 

 to be exceedingly beneficial in the pruning of such plants as Euphoi'- 

 bia speciosa, Impatiens latifolia, Impatiens latifolia-alha, Hoya hella. 

 Hoy a imperialis, &c., the cut branches being prevented from bleed- 

 ing. 



It is the author's intention next spring to follow out this experi- 

 ment, in budding and grafting, as he considers that it will also be 

 useful in this branch of horticulture. 



Gutta-percha, dissolved in sether, was in some instances substi- 

 tuted to heal the wounds caused by pruning ; yet owing to this so- 

 lution not drying as rapidly as collodion, the first, and sometimes 

 the second application was not sufi5.cient. 



The effect of these solutions upon cut flowers was very marked. 

 Two branches were gathered as nearly alike as possible ; to the 

 flower-stalks of the one, collodion was applied. These flowers 

 were placed in vases filled with Vv'ater ; those coated over with 

 collodion began to fade in thirty-six hours, and many were quite 



