872 



Tin;: PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



[Mar, 



The most rational directions for its cultivation which we have 

 met with, appears in a communication to the Cal. Hort. Soc, by 

 Mr. D. Robertson, of which the following is the chief detiiil : 

 " After the flower is beginning to fade, cut down the stalks, 

 and cut them into ordinary lengths of cuttings. Next cut ofi 

 the leaves and smooth the ends, then make three slits with a 

 knife in the bark or rind longitudinally, so as to separate or raise 

 the bark for half an inch in lenofth. When the cuttin<T is in- 

 serted in the ground, tlie loose bark naturally curls up, and 

 it is from this bark that the young roots proceed. The partial 

 separation and the turning up of the bark seem to promote a 

 tendency to throw out roots. The cuttings may be put into 

 flower-pots, for the more readily protecting them during winter, 

 or they may be planted in the natural earth, provided that it 

 be light and fresh. Covering them with a hand-glass will 

 forward their rooting, and placing them on a slight hot-bed 

 will forward their growth considerably. By this method, 

 stock-julyflowers and double wall-flowers may also be readily 

 j)ropagated." 



Annual plants, to a certain extent, may be pro}>tigated on 

 the same principle, and their existence prolonged for several 

 years ; by a somewhat similar process, double carnations, 

 pinks, &c., have been long propagated, as well as by laying. 

 There are, however, some double flowers which are not ca- 

 pable of being increased this way ; of such are those with 

 bulbous and tuberous roots, but as they increase so readily 

 by those means, this circumstance is less to be regretted. 



