148 
THE ERICA. 
the varieties. As with the Fuchsia so with the Erica, I shall say 
very little about propagating ; in the first place, because I know 
but little, and in the second, because I do not think it would 
interest you. Suffice it then to mention, the cuttings are taken (as 
Mr. Dawson used to say) when you can get them to suit you; 
trim them with a pair of sharp-pointed scissors, and cut them 
horizontally at a joint, insert them in pure silver sand, and cover 
them with a bell glass; after you have watered them place the 
pot of cuttings in a shaded situation. The time they will require 
in striking entirely depends on the variety, for some sorts will 
strike in a month, while others take eighteen months ; some sorts 
like a cool situation, while others like a moderately warm one, 
during the striking process; when they appear to grow, the 
striking-glass must be elevated about half an inch from the surface, 
so as to allow them a little air previously to taking the glass 
entirely off, when in about three weeks the glass may be entirely 
removed; and, soon after, the young plants may be potted off in 
store pots, that is, four or five plants in a sixty-sized pot; if this 
is done in the spring of the year, they will require single pots 
about July, they may then be potted, and kept in a close frame 
for a week, and shaded during the hot sun; it would be as well 
to have the frame turned to face the north at that season of the 
year. After they have been potted off a month, they should have 
all the air that can be given, but not so as to allow the cold 
cutting winds to injure them, which is the true cause of so many 
young heaths being lost. About the second week in October is a 
good time to remove them to their winter quarters, which should 
be on the top shelf of a cold greenhouse, taking care to give the 
air on all opportunities. The only thing to be done through the 
winter is to tie them to neat sticks, and keep the surface of the 
soil free from moss and scum, which collects by frequent watering. 
About March or April this situation will be getting too hot, they 
must then be removed to a cold frame, covered with mats at night, 
and given plenty of air in the day. This will be found a good 
time for shifting either small or large plants, provided the latter 
are not too forward for bloom. The plants that have been in 
sixty-sized pots all the winter may be shifted into forty-eight sized, 
and those that have been in forty-eight may have twenty-four sized; 
that is, if you want to grow them free for specimen plants. 
