PSOPAGATIOX BY CUTTIXGS, 



113 



the proper season, and the shoots selected for this pm-pose should be 

 weU ripened, and of the preceding summer's gi'ovrth ; younger shoots than 

 these are apt to damp off, and older ones requii'e a much longer period to 

 form roots, and often fail to do so entirely. The best situation for them 

 is a cold fi'ame, merely covered '^th the hglits and shaded from the sun, 

 excluding the ah' as much as possible until they have begun to make roots, 

 ■when it should be admitted to them gradually unril they can stand both 

 the full force of the sun and air Trithout Sagging. Upon a large scale, 

 the cuttings may be set in the bed, in a preparation made for them of hah" 

 peat and half light loam, dibbled in pretty thickly, and the mould made 

 firm round thek stems. And upon a smaher scale, they may be planted 

 in pots, or deep pans, properly di'ained, and filled ^ith the same mould 

 as above. 



Tovrards the following Afarch or April, they ^sill be^forming roots, which 

 wHl be indicated by their making young shoots ; at this period their 

 growth will be very much forwarded if they be placed in a gentle heat 

 and kept pretty moist ; the atmosphere of a common cucumber bed, but 

 with considerably less heat, wiU suit them weU. There will be no diSculty 

 in removing such as are in pots, but those that are planted in the mould 

 in the pit, must be taken carefully up, potted, and placed in their proper 

 situation. By the middle of summer the most foiT-rard will be in a fit 

 state for potting into single pots, and the more tardy by October or 

 November. 



The most usual method of propagating by cuttings is to select them 

 from plants of the single red variety, wliich is thought to strike 

 sooner, and with greater certaint\' than the double varieties. Some cul- 

 tivators, however, maintain a different opinion, and assert that double sorts 

 may be raised by cuttings as successfully as the single ones, and also that 

 plants originated from double sorts make as good and as lasting specimens 

 as those originated from the single ones, a cu'cumstance we see no reason 

 to doubt, although such is not generally acknowledged. 



The following routine has been found very successful in striking double- 

 fiowered Camelhas from cuttings. Cuttings of the previous year's growth 

 are selected in March, and cut off' exactly at the junction of the wood 

 with that which is a year older. The soil used is sandy peat, and the 

 cuttings are placed round and close to the edges of the pots. BeU glas^s 

 are placed over them, and the pots are plunged about half their depth 

 in a 77iiM bottom heat. They are kept in this state until they have 

 pushed and completed their first growth, v\-hen they are removed to a 

 vinen-, or similar temperature dimng the winter. The young cuttings ai'e 



