D I A N T H U S. 
796 
have grown fo large as almoft to meet each other ; then 
prepare fome more beds of the like good earth, in quan¬ 
tity proportionable to the flowers you have raifed, in 
which plant them at fix inches diftance each way, and not 
above four rows in each bed, for the more conveniently 
laying fuch of them as may prove worth preferving, for 
in thefe beds they (hould remain'to flower. The alleys 
between thefe beds fhould be two feet wide, that you 
may pafs between the beds to weed and clean them. If 
the feafon (hould prove very dry at this time, they fliould 
not be tranfplanted till there is fome rain; fo that it 
may happen to be the middle or latter end of September, 
fome years, before there may be wet enough to moijlen 
the ground for this purpofe; but, if there is time enough 
for the plants to get good root before the frofl comes on, 
it will be fufficient. If the winter fhould prove fevere, 
the beds fhould be arched over with hoops, that they 
may be covered with mats, otherwife many of the plants 
may be deltroyed, for the good flowers are not fo hardy 
as the ordinary ones. There will be no other culture 
wanting to thefe, but to keep them clean from weeds, 
and when they fhoot up their ftalks to flower, they mull 
be fupported by flicks to prevent their breaking. When 
your flowers begin to blow, you mud look over them to 
fee which of them proffer to make good flowers, which, 
as foon as you difcover, you fhould lay down all the 
layers upon them; thofe which are well marked, and 
blow whole without breaking their pods, fliould be re- 
ferved to plant in borders, to furnilh you with feed; and 
thofe which burfl their pods, and feem to have good 
properties, fliould be planted in pots, to try what their 
flowers will be, when managed according to art; and 
it is not till the fecond year that you can pronounce what 
the value of a flower will be, which is in proportion to 
the goodnefs of its properties. Having made choice of 
fuch of your flowers as promife well for the large fort, 
thefe you fhould mark feparatcly for pots, and the round 
whole-blowing flowers for borders; you fhould pull up 
all Angle flowers, or fuch as are ill-coloured, and not 
worth preferving, that your good flowers may have the 
more air and room to grow ftrong; thefe having been 
laid at a proper feafon, as foon as they have taken root, 
which will be fome time in Augufl, they fhould be taken 
off, and planted out, thofe that blow large, in pots, and 
the others in borders. Of late years the whole-blowing 
flowers have been much more efleemed than thofe large 
flowers which burfl their pods, but efpecially thofe round 
flowers which have broad (tripes of beautiful colours, 
and round role leaves, of which kinds there have been a 
great variety introduced from France within thefe few 
years; but, as thefe French flowers are extremely apt to 
degenerate to plain colours, and being much tenderer 
than thofe which are brought up in England, there are 
not fuch great prices given for the plants now, as have 
been a few years pad; from the prefent tafle for thefe 
whole-blowing flake flowers, many of the old varieties, 
which had been turned out of the gardens of the florifls, 
m2r»y years ago, to make room for the large flowers, 
which were then in fafhion, have been received again; 
and large prices have been paid for fuch flowers as fome 
years before were fold for one (hilling a dozen, or lefs, 
which is a ftrong proof of the variablenefs of the fancies 
of the florifls. 
We (hall now give fome directions for propagating 
thefe flowers by layers. The bed feafon for laying thefe 
flowers is in J une, as foon as the flioots are ftrong enough 
for that purpofe, which is performed in the following 
manner : After having, dripped off the leaves from the 
lower part of the fhoot intended to be laid, make choice 
of a drong joint, about the middle part of the fhoot, not 
too near the heart of the fhoot, nor in the hard part next 
the old plant; then with your pen-knife make a flit in 
the middle of the fhoot from the joint upwards half way 
to the other joint, or more, according to their didance ; 
then cut the tops of the leaves, and alfo cut off the fwe!- 
ling part of the joint where the flit is made, fo that the 
part flit may be fhaped like a tongue ; for, if that out¬ 
ward fkin is left on, it would prevent their pufhing out 
roots; then having loofened the earth round the plant, 
with your finger make a hollow place in the earth, jtid 
where the fhoot is to come, and with your thumb and 
finger bend the fhoot gently into the earth, obferving to 
keep the top as upright as poflible, that the flit may be 
open ; and, being provided with forked dicks for that 
purpofe, thrud one of them into the ground, fo that the 
forked part may take hold of the layer, in order to keep 
it down in its proper place ; then gently cover the (hank 
of the layer with the fame fort of earth, giving it a gen. 
tie watering to fettle the earth about it, obferving'to 
repeat the fame as often as is neceffary, in order to pro. 
mote rooting. In about five or fix weeks after this, the 
layers will have taken root fufficient to be tranfplanted ; 
againd which time be provided with proper earth for 
them,' w-hich may be compofed after the following man. 
ner : Make choice of fome good up-land padure, or a 
common that is of a hazel earth, or light fandy loam; 
dig from the furface of this your earth about eight 
inches deep, taking all the turf with it; let this be laid 
in a heap to rot and mellow for one year, turning it once 
a-month, that it may fweeten ; then mix about a third 
part of rotten neats dung, or, for want of that, fome rot¬ 
ten dung from a cucumber or melon bed ; let this be 
well mixed together, and, if you can get it time enough 
before-hand, let them lie mixed fix or eight months be¬ 
fore it is ufed, turning it feveral times, the better to in¬ 
corporate their parts. 
Plant thefe layers two in each pot, the pots about 
nine inches over in the clear at the top ; in thefe pots 
they are to remain for bloom ; and therefore, in the 
fpring of the year, take od' as much of the earth from 
the furface of the pots as you can, without didurbing 
their roots, filling the pots up again with the fame good 
frefh earth as the pots were before filled with. But there 
is fome difficulty in fheltering a great quantity of thefe 
flowers in winter, when they are planted in fuch large 
pots, which in mod winters they will require, more or 
lefs; another method therefore is, to put them fingly into 
halfpenny pots in autumn ; and in the middle or latter 
end of October to fet thefe pots into a bed of old tanners’ 
bark,'which has loft its heat, and cover them with a 
common frame, fuch as is ufed for raifing cucumbers and 
melons; and in two of thefe frames, which contain fix 
lights, may be fet a hundred and fifty of thefe pots: in 
thefe frames you may give them as much free air as you 
pleafe, by taking off the lights every day when the wea¬ 
ther is mild, and putting them on only in bad weather 
and great rains ; and, if the winter fhould prove fevere, 
it is only covering the glades with mats, draw, or peafe- 
haulm, fo as to keep out the frod, which will effedtually 
preferve your plants in the utmofl vigour. 
In the middle or latter end of February, if the feafon 
is good, you may tranfplant thefe layers into pots for 
their bloom, the fize of which fhould be about eight 
inches over at the top in the clear ; in doing which, ob- 
ferve to put fome potfherds or oifler-fhellS over the holes 
in the bottoms of the pots, to keep the earth from flop¬ 
ping them, which would detain the water in the pots to 
the great prejudice of the flowers: then fill thefe' pots 
about half-way with the dime good compod as was be¬ 
fore diredted, and (hake the plants out of the fmall pots 
with all the earth about the roots ; then with your hands 
take off fome of the earth round the outfide of the ball, 
and from the furface taking off the fibres of the roots on 
the outfide of the ball of earth ; then put one good plant 
exadlly in the middle of each pot, fo that it may ftand 
well as to the height, i. e. not fo low as to bury the 
leaves of the plant with earth, nor fo high that the (hank 
may be above the rim of the pot; then fill the pot up 
with 
