66 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



endeavour to obtain good results, so that after all it is the close attention 

 to detail that is necessary in each and every case to ensure success. 



The selection and care of stock plants is an important factor, and 

 when large quantities are grown the health and vigour of a variety 

 can only be maintained by selection — propagating only from the plants 

 that are most robust and those which have produced the best-coloured 

 flowers. 



Immediately after the blooms have been cut, the selected plants 

 should be cut down — but not too low, as plants that have been fed 

 fairly late to ensure a well-finished crop of bloom are apt to bleed 

 if so treated, and if this happens the stock is very much weakened, 

 the cuttings take a long time to root, and never make really good 

 plants. The stools should then be removed to a bright, airy house or 

 frame, and if the plants have been infested with any pests, such as 

 mildew, rust, fly, or the leaf-mining maggot, steps should be taken to 

 cleanse the cuttings thoroughly by spraying once or twice before 

 they are removed for propagation. When it can be managed, rested 

 stock — that is plants which have been planted in the open ground for 

 one season and not allowed to flower, and afterwards lifted and placed 

 in a house or frame — furnish the very best cuttings ; and although these 

 cuttings may not be so large as those taken from the pot plants, they 

 root quicker and ultimately make better plants. 



Propagation by means of cuttings may be carried out any time 

 from early December to the month of May, though for ordinary 

 exhibition purposes and for cut flowers generally the best time is 

 from early December to the middle or end of February, and by the 

 end of June there will not be a great deal of difference in the plants 

 propagated between these dates, but in the case of the later-rooted 

 plants they will need to be shifted or potted on rather more quickly. 



When very large quantities of cuttings are to be rooted they may 

 be dibbled out in beds or benches of light soil in a house where the 

 temperature can be kept at about 50 0 F. In such cases there is no 

 need to place these cuttings in propagating frames, as the house may 

 be treated as such, and providing due care is given to keep a certain 

 amount of atmospheric moisture in the house during the time the sun 

 is out there will be very little danger of flagging, though, if the cuttings 

 are not put in till the latter part of February and the weather is really 

 sunny, a slight shading may be necessary when the sun is bright. 



Boxes, of course, may be utilized for the cuttings instead of dibbling 

 out in beds of soil. Moderate-sized cuttings are to be preferred. 

 These produce roots not only quicker but in greater quantities than 

 larger and softer cuttings, while the tendency to flag during the 

 rooting period is much less. 



The amateur, who naturally requires only a small number of 

 plants, may root his cuttings in a propagating frame, which may be 

 placed in a cool house. In this case they may be put either singly in 

 thumb -pots, three or four round the sides of a large 60, or in shallow 

 boxes. During the period of rooting the frame must be kept close, 



