4 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
they have the good quality of being free-rooting. The bed should 
have a moderate watering through a hue rose, to settle the soil 
before the cuttings are put in. 
Now for a few words about the selection of the cuttings, for upon 
this, in a great measure, depends the cultivator’s success. The best 
cuttings are those taken from the moderate-sized side-shoots that 
are clean and healthy. The main shoots, which have been flower- 
ing and growing freely all the spring, will be found, on examination, 
to be quite hollow, and are not suitable for propagating. The best, 
as I have said before, are stout little side-shoots that are about two 
or three inches long. Cuttings of this description will generally 
have three pairs of leaves, and, if very short-jointed, four. The 
cutting should be cut clean through the bottom joint. Use a sharp 
knife, to prevent its being bruised, and the lower or two lower pairs 
of leaves, as the case may be, trimmed oflT. 
The simplest way to insert them, and at the same time to pre- 
vent confusion, is to begin at the left-hand side of the frame, and 
dibble them in rows about four inches apart. Place a tally to each 
variety as they are put in, to prevent mistakes happening. After 
the frame, is filled, or the cuttings exhausted, the bed should have a 
sprinkles and be shut up and shaded in bright weather. The main 
point is to keep the foliage fresh, without the atmosphere being 
sufficiently close and moist to rot the cuttings. Very little remains 
to be done after this beyond keeping the frame shaded and the bed 
sprinkled when necessary. A few days after the insertion of the 
cuttings, a little air must be left on through the night, and gradually 
increased until they can bear a little during the day, when the 
atmosphere is rather close and the wind still. This must go on in- 
creasing until the cnttings are rooted, when, of course, the lights 
can be removed altogether. 
Aftek-managemekt. — The first matter requiring attention after 
the young plants are readj'^ for removal from the frame, is to make 
up some beds of good compost in which to plant them. In many' 
instances the ordinary soil is sufficiently good without any special 
preparation, but where it is poor, six inches of good turfv loam and 
a thin coat of well rotted cow-dung forked in will be the best dress- 
ing to give the ground. It is not well to make it too rich with 
manure. The best situation for the beds is where they will be 
partially shaded for a few hours through the hottest part of the day. 
If there is a position of this description available, choose the 
next best to it, and avoid hot dry corners. Dull showery weather 
is the most desirable in which to transplant pansies ; but it is not 
always advisable to wait for it, as the plants may become so much 
crowded as to be partly spoilt before it comes. AVhether the 
weather is wet or dry, the beds should be made moderately moist 
and the plants have*^ a liberal watering a short time before their 
removal from the frame. This should be done as soon as they^ are 
nicely rooted, and taken up with a trowel, to avoid their being 
broken and injured. The rows should be a loot or fifteen inches 
apart, and the plants nine inches from each other in the rows. 
When the planting is finished, give them a thorough watering, and 
