THE SLNSET PLANT: 



541 



Fig. 7. 



a day the cover may be raised for a short time for ven- 

 tilation, and as the moisture does not evaporate very 

 rapidly, but little water is required ; but one should be 

 sure that the bottom of the sand does not dry out from 

 the heat while the top remains wet. • 



An interesting way of increasing one's stock of choice 

 dahlias and paeonies is by root-grafting. Young shoots 

 of the desired varieties are in- 

 serted into the neck of a fleshy 

 root of a common sort, by cut- 

 ting out along the upper end of 

 the root a triangular section, 

 large enough to admit the shoot 

 ,when pared to such a shape 

 that the outside of the root and 

 of the shoot are exactly even ; 

 they are then planted, a band 

 having been placed around to 

 keep them in place until they 

 have fully united by new growth. 



An old-fashioned plan that may be quite useful to the 

 window gardener who, having but a few plants, might 

 desire something still more convenient than these men- 

 tioned, is simply to take an old soup plate half or three- 

 quarters full of clean sand, and nearly fill it with water. 

 Rain water is preferable, though not essential, there be- 

 ing but little if any difference in the growth of the plants 

 whichever is used. Cuttings can be taken from all of 

 the ordinary house plants, such as geraniums, including 

 the ivy-leaved section, fuchsias, coleus, tradescantias, 

 verbenas, begonias — both the flowering and the foliage 

 class — abutilons, carnations, chrysanthemums, lantanas, 

 roses and salvias. They should be rather short, and 

 stuck into the sand on the plate so that about one inch is 

 below the surface of the water, which should be renewed 

 as it evaporates. For the first week they should be 

 shaded during the sunniest part of the day if in the win- 

 dow, and when uncovered should be lightly sprinkled at 

 short intervals. The proper place, however, for this 

 miniature propagating case is where it can receive some 



bottom heat, especially during the winter season, and 

 there should be light enough to keep the leaves from 

 losing their color. With this care, which any one can 

 easily give, nearly every cutting will root, and if potted 

 into good soil, all will make fine plants. Hard-wooded 

 plants, like the oleander, may be readily made to root by 

 placing mature shoots in bottles kept filled with water. 



Many of the finest flowers are easily raised from seeds : 

 but often the seed is so small that it is difficult to pro- 

 vide suitable conditions for its germination. By follow- 

 ing this method I have obtained uniform success, and 

 others may be equally fortunate ; A shallow box or dish 

 of any sort or size can be used. First in importance is 

 drainage, and for this, broken pots or somewhat coarse 

 coal clinkers from the stove are the best materials. The 

 box is so filled with these that there is space for only 

 about an inch of soil on top, and in arranging this, the 

 coarsest parts should be next to the drainage stuff, and 

 the soil on top should be as fine as possible, so that the 

 minute roots are able to take hold of the nourishment in 

 the soil as soon as they emerge from the seed. The best 

 covering for almost all kinds of seeds is thoroughly dried 

 moss which has been rubbed in the hands or through a 

 fine sieve until it has been made as fine as the soil, and 

 then scattered over the seeds in a layer not thicker than 

 a sixteenth of an inch. The first watering after the seed 

 has been sown is a delicate operation, and is best man- 

 aged by laying a piece of newspaper over the top of the 

 box and pressing it down evenly upon the soil. It should 

 be so large that the edges will come up somewhat higher 

 than the edge of the box, and water poured into the de- 

 pression will gradually soak through the paper and even- 

 ly moisten the seeds and soil beneath. As soon as the 

 seeds show signs of sprouting the paper can be removed, 

 but great care must be taken that the plantlets are not 

 allowed to become dry at this critical period. As a rule, 

 seedlings should be transplanted as soon as they can be 

 handled, for a sort of fungus often kills them in the seed 

 box : and their progress is much more rapid for the 

 early transplanting. Hortus. 



THE "SUNSET PLANT.' 



DURING the winter of last year a catalogue was 

 received from the Lewiston (Idaho) Seed 

 Company which set forth in glowing terms 

 the striking beauty and rare merits of what it believed 

 to be a new plant. It was advertised as the " Sun- 

 set Plant," and the company was making efforts to 

 ascertain its place in botany. At our request, a 

 single specimen was sent to the Rural Experiment 

 grounds in January. It grew vigorously and began 

 to bloom in early May. The flowers start from the 

 axils of the leaves, as shown by the very Accurate 

 accompanying engraving (page 540), and are borne 

 on short petioles in clusters of two, three or four. 

 The petals are heart-shaped, five in number, and 



the flowers, of a salmon color, are about one inch 

 in diameter. The color of the buds is a pleasing 

 shade of deep orange. The plant continued in full 

 bloom until it was set out in the open border, 

 where it again began to bloom in late July. The 

 roots wintered safely, and new shoots appeared in 

 early May, which began blooming about the first of 

 June. The stems are about two feet high and need 

 support. The leaves, as shown, are in form like 

 those of the currant, and of a light glaucous color. 

 The whole plant has a general resemblance to 

 Malva rotuiidifolia, the "cheeses " of the young peo- 

 ple. The name of this malva we found to be Spha-r- 

 alcca Miiii?-oa>ia, formerly Malvasintm Miinroaiium. 



