THE STOVE. 



17 



freely in either young or ripened wood ; other kinds will only 

 strike in very young wood, and others only in ripened wood. 

 From Christmas till April may be considered as good a time 

 as any to put in most kinds of cuttings, as they root more freely, 

 before the weather gets too warm; but some kind or other 

 require to be put in every week throughout the year. No 

 leaves should be taken off or shortened, except on the part 

 that is buried in the ground, when the closer to the stem 

 they are taken off the better. The more leaves a cutting has 

 on it, the sooner it will root, though most propagators trim 

 up their cuttings like a parcel of naked sticks, which is the 

 very cause of their not succeeding. The shallower cuttings 

 are put in the pots, they better they root, if they be but well 

 fastened : if planted deep they are more likely to rot, or damp 

 off; the sand or mould in which they are planted must be 

 kept moist, but not too wet, and the glasses must be wiped 

 occasionally ; for too much moisture on them will make the 

 cuttings turn mouldy, and rot off, even after they are rooted. 

 When the young plants are rooted, the sooner they are potted 

 off the better, in as small pots as they can be safely got into ; 

 for if too long in the cutting-pots, the sand is apt to injure 

 their roots. When they are first potted off, they should be 

 kept under a close glass for a few days, or in a frame on a 

 gentle hot-bed, and shaded from the sun with a mat till they 

 have taken fresh root : then harden them to the air by degrees. 

 When the young plants are drawn up too slender, their tops 

 should be pinched off, which will make them gi'ow bushy. It 

 is always best to top plants while young, if wanted to grow 

 neat ; if let run up high, the knife must be used, which causes 

 d wound that sometimes is unsightly. No leaves should be 

 taken off any plants except decayed ones, for it weakens them 

 very much. Taking off a large leaf from a young plant will 

 generally kill it; a circumstance that few cultivators are ac- 

 quainted with." 



Gushing, who was long a propagator in the Hammersmith 

 nursery, has left us the following directions, which, although 

 something lengthened, yet as it is different from our own prac- 

 tice, and also from that of the author last quoted, we will avail 

 ourselves of the following extracts from his Exotic Gardener : 



