ON THE CULTURE OF THE CHINESE AND INDIAN AZALEA. 
61 
time during the growing season, and consists in merely cutting the branches of two 
plants so that they match, and then tying them neatly, but securely, together, and 
covering the wound with a little damp moss to exclude the air. Place the plant in 
a shaded and rather moist place ; syringe occasionally with tepid water, and in a few 
weeks the inarched branch may be severed from the parent stem. It is advisable, 
however, not to reduce the foliage of the inarched plant too much at one time ; but 
rather, after all the inarched branches are firmly established, remove a few twigs or 
branches weekly, until every vestige of the old plant except the stem or stool has 
disappeared. In this manner a large plant of an inferior kind may be quickly 
clothed with a more modern variety, or a number of varieties of the same habit of 
growth, but producing various coloured flowers, may be worked on one plant ; and in 
this way a novel and really very interesting object may be produced. 
The same desirable end above noticed, may be achieved by independent grafting ; 
but in that case more skill is required, inasmuch as the graft requires to be kept 
alive until adhesion between it and the stock takes place, and hence the grafted 
plant must be kept in a close and moist atmosphere where evaporation from 
the leaves will be prevented. Grafting is the best performed either early in 
March or towards the end of August. If performed in the spring, take the 
plants or stocks, as they are generally called, into a house at the temperature of from 
50 to 55 degrees ; and as soon as they show symptoms of the sap rising, they are in 
a fit state to graft. Procure your grafts from plants in a dormant state, and, hewing 
out a slice of the stock, take a corresponding slice of the graft; fit the latter and the 
stock neatly together, taking care that the inner bark of the two correspond, and tie 
them neatly with some woollen thread or yarn. The plants must then be placed 
in a moderately moist heat in a house, pit, or frame of from 45° to 50° be 
covered with a hand-glass and shaded during bright sunshine. In a month or six 
weeks the grafts will be securely taken, and then the ligature must be loosened, 
merely keeping it tight enough to prevent the graft being rubbed off. When the 
grafts are firmly established, begin gradually to remove the head of the stock as 
before directed. Grafting in the autumn is performed in precisely the same manner, 
only at that time the wood of the graft should be about three parts ripe ; and as the 
season is warmer, of course the grafts may be kept considerably warmer. Beware, 
however, of over-excitement, and recollect that great haste is not always great speed. 
We will now suppose that the propagating processes have been successful, and 
that you have on the first of April nice bushy plants,, established in large sixty-sized 
pots. Now, presuming that these plants are well rooted, the next operation will be 
to shift or repot them. For this purpose procure some nice clean twenty-four or 
sixteen-sized pots, and drain them well with oyster shells and some lumps of 
charcoal, and then prepare the following compost : — four parts by measure of rich 
turfy peat, one part of perfectly decayed cow-dung three years old, one part of silver 
sand, and one of charcoal ; and if the peat is not very rich, a measure of half- 
decomposed leaf-mould may be added without injury. Mix and blend all these 
