220 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[October, 
various hues of colour. Thus another proof would be afforded towards the 
establishment of the assertion I boldly maintained at the commencement of my 
subject, that in the Pelargonium family we have a flower of general utility, still 
capable of greater improvement than any other we possess. 
Upon the cultivation and propagation of the Pelargonium by cuttings it is 
not necessary for me to say much, as every amateur well knows that all the 
varieties of the Scarlet section can be easily struck by planting the cuttings in a 
south border during the month of August. The soil should be rather light and 
sandy, and be made moderately rich by the presence of a fair proportion of com¬ 
pletely decayed manure and leaf-mould ; the only precaution necessary is that 
the border should slope towards the south, that no water may remain stagnant 
upon its surface. 
If it be required to propagate throughout the winter or early spring months, 
it becomes a much more difficult undertaking to amateurs, especially if the plants 
to be propagated be superabundantly sappy and green, as is the case with seed¬ 
lings. This difficulty I have encountered, and to my great annoyance have lost 
a very large per-centage of what I looked upon as valuable cuttings, until, after 
various experiments, I hit upon a plan whereby I rarely fail to strike a cutting, 
however green and sappy. I take an ordinary label, upon which I first write 
the name or distinguishing number of the cutting, which I then tie to the label, 
so that the cut end is about two-thirds down it; within a sixteenth-part of an 
inch from the end of the cutting I insert between it and the label a small piece of 
wood transversely, which keeps the end of the cutting from contact with the 
label, and consequently prevents the accumulation of damp between the two ; the 
lower third of the label I insert into the ground, so that the cut end of the cut¬ 
ting is thus brought to rest upon but is not inserted beneath the surface. The 
end speedily heals over, and sends down roots. I am able by this means to strike 
at once cuttings of my seedlings which have flowered only late in the autumn. 
Any one who has raised seedlings and entered into the anxiety of striking a 
cutting with as little delay as possible, so as to test its qualities upon its own 
roots by the dawn of spring, will appreciate the means of doing it without fear 
of loss by damping off. I should state that I have partitioned off and adapted 
a portion of my house for the purpose of striking through the winter months. 
The arrangement consists of a hot-air chamber, upon the top of which are slabs 
of slate, covered with soil five inches deep, composed of two-thirds common 
yellow sand and one-third of a mixture of perfectly-decayed manure and leaf- 
mould. This is evenly and firmly patted down, and upon it my cuttings are, by 
the aid of the label, made to stand; the hot air beneath maintains the soil at an 
even temperature of 85°. I sprinkle my cuttings, but water very sparingly, and 
as soon as they have acquired little tufts of roots they are carefully lifted and 
potted with light soil into thumb-pots. 
The subsequent culture and management of the Scarlet Pelargonium most 
