HORTICULTURAL NOTES. 
333 
daily occurrence. Day by day should a com- 
paratively limited proportion of leaves, buds, 
or shoots, be removed ; and then the vital 
functions of the remainder, instead of being 
deranged by the removal, would be assisted 
by it to discharge themselves more completely, 
to the advantage of the tree, and to the im- 
provement of its produce. — G. J. 
Propagation by Cuttings. — Considerable 
experience in this interesting branch of 
gardening, enables me to state that the rooting 
of most soft wooded cuttings will be greatly 
accelerated by retaining a leaf at their base. 
The reason of this appears to be, that the leaf 
or leaves left continue to perform their proper 
functions, and thus prepare at the very spot 
where it is required a supply of organizable 
matter which is almost immediately expended 
in the formation of roots, whereas if no leaves 
are left at this point, a suspension of vital 
energy must for a longer period be the conse- 
quence, as the duration of this suspension will 
be regulated by the distance of the next leaves 
from the base of the cutting, and the condition 
of the cutting itself, with respect to the soft- 
ness or firmness of its tissues ; in other words, 
the longer the internodes of the cutting, and 
the softer its texture, the greater will be the 
benefits derived from this practice, and vice 
versa. Those who are conversant with the prin- 
ciples of propagation, are aware that the chief 
desiderata necessary to ensure success, are, a 
judicious application of the important agents, 
air, light, heat and moisture. And if it is 
important in all cases to regulate the appli- 
cation of these agents with nicety and preci- 
sion, it is more than usually so in carrying out 
the system above recommended, as the more 
leaves there are upon a cutting, the more 
liable will it be to suffer from being subjected 
to a very powerful application of any one 
of these agents. For instance, if air is too 
freely admitted, in the absence of the other 
counteracting agents, it will only drain the 
cutting of its stored up juices ; or if light be 
admitted in excess, it will only paralyze the 
energy of the cutting, by effecting a too rapid 
decomposition of its carbonic acid gas. Simi- 
lar injurious effects will follow the application 
in excess of the other agents. If the cutting 
is subjected to a high temperature, this will 
cause an immediate extension of its stems and 
leaves, at the expense of the organizable 
matter which ought to have been expended 
in the formation of roots, or if moisture is 
administered too copiously, the complete de- 
struction of the cutting will very soon be 
the result, as the leaf or leaves retained for the 
express purpose of accelerating the emission 
of roots will, from their damping off, hasten 
the decomposition of the other parts. It seems, 
then, that the more leaves there are upon a 
cutting, the more care will be necessary ; but 
if that care is exercised in securing it such a 
genial atmosphere, and such an amount of 
light and air as will prevent it from being 
either ' drawn or flagged,' roots will sooner be 
emitted than if fewer leaves are left. To pre- 
vent the formation of suckers, the bud at the 
base of the leaf, at the bottom of the cutting, 
should be extracted. — G. J. 
Tropteoluji tuberosum. — Plants of such 
a nature as this Tropreolum would na- 
turally enough be planted in a generous 
compost, and hence would grow rapidly and 
luxuriantly, developing leaves, not flowers. 
So again when planted out, the ordinary soil 
of a garden is too rich, too deep, and too moist 
for such a subject ; it would still grow too 
freely, and fail to produce even a fair modicum 
of blossoms. What is wanted with this plant 
is to starve it, and to roast it : treated in 
the manner which is thus implied, I have seen 
it presenting a beautiful appearance, and I 
would strongly recommend a trial of the plan 
to those who have plants by them, established 
in pots. What I intend by starving them, is 
to plant them in a thin layer of poor gravelly 
soil, resting on a hard and almost impervious 
(and of course dry) bottom. What I mean by 
roasting them, is to choose a situation for 
them, where they may be fully exposed to the 
burning heat of a summer's sun, unsheltered 
and unshaded : no place can be better than in 
front of a wall having a south-west aspect. If 
those who have hitherto despised Tropa?olum 
tuberosum, will treat it something after this 
manner, and give the matter a degree of con- 
sideration, they will have secured two results 
of some importance. In the first place, they 
will find that the plant is not deservedly 
despised ; in the second place, they will have 
learned a practical lesson in the mode of induc- 
ing a blooming state in plants, which they 
will do well to bear frequently in mind. — G. J. 
Rhododendron hyacintiiielorum. — At 
the June show of the Royal Botanic Society, 
Mr. Waterer of Knaphill, — one of the most 
extensive growers of American plants in the 
country, — produced a very distinct and pretty 
Rhododendron, bearing the above name. The 
flowers are small, and of the ordinary purplish 
colour, common among this class of plants ; 
but they are double — at least they are semi- 
double ; and individually are not at all in- 
aptly compared to the blooms of a large 
flowered semi-double Hyacinth. Flowers of 
this form growing in bunches like those of the 
Rhododendron, look somewhat novel, and alto- 
gether we regard the plant as a desirable 
addition to our hardy-flowering shrubs. We 
are informed by Mr. Waterer, that it is 
not of his own raising ; but, as he believes, 
was imported from the Continent. It is 
