NoVEJtBER 11. 
THE COTTAGE GAEDENER. 
105 
courage tlie growing and then the hardening ju'oeess. 
4th. “ 1 liave no plants, hut Neighbour Lose-not.hing has 
olfercd me plenty of cuttings. 1 have a nice, open, 
I light lumber-room, from which frost can easily be cx- 
{ eluded.’’ Well, “ better late than never,” though it is 
: never good to be late. Get some some shallow boxes, say 
: three to four inches dee)i, six to twelve inches wide, and 
I from two to three feet in length ; put a little rough stuif 
i in their bottom, and then lill rather firmly with dryish 
' sandy earth. Make the cuttings rather large, leave 
i only a leaf or two at their points, let the base dry for a 
1 day or two, and then insert them tirmly and thickly in 
^ the dryish soil. Now, here is the ])art; in a 
I sunny day you may dew the foliage with water, but }Wl 
. a drop must go into the soil until roots are freely 
forming. In all those cases the succulent juice stored 
up in the plant and cutting is that upon which you 
must depend. Every position indicated is, therefore, 
better than your own sitting-room would be, whatever 
bustling care you might give them, just because your 
tires would dry the atmosphere, and rob the plants, (fee., 
of their self-contained moisture. 
II. Fuchsias. — These, if not the first, arc second 
favourites with all our artisans of taste. Nothing beats 
them for windows, baskets, and small gardens. As 
successions arc easily obtained, the plants should never 
remain in-doors whenever some of the leaves begin to 
fade. Ripening of their wood in the open air, and a 
good rest, are essential to their future success. A shed 
or room, where they can be protected from frost, will 
suit them better than a window or greenhouse. If the 
pots are plunged, or covered over with a damp material, 
such as moss, the plants will want no water until fresh 
growth commences in spring. The damper the plants, 
the more liable to injury from cold. A lady, very fond 
of these and other plants, kept them nicely in a light 
lumber-room in the garden. Her good husband, though 
equally fond of flowers, knew nothing of their manage¬ 
ment, and wisely never interfered. One day, however, 
he took pity on the woe-begone aspect of the plants: 
he would give them a refresher ; and tops and bottoms 
got the water until the place was sailing. He intended 
to surprise his lady on the following day, and he did. 
To give them every chance, he left the window open, 
and forgot to shut it. That night a severe frost left 
wreck and desolation. His mistaken kindness did the 
mischief. A little dry hay is useful for throwing over 
the tops in severe weather. 
III. Begonia Evansiana. —This is a great favourite 
with our window gardeners, and deservedly so. 1 have 
already written its praises in these jtages. 1 had pots 
this summer, with four and five stems in each, that were 
so truly fine, that some of our acute nurserymen did not 
know what it was. Wlicncver the llowers drop, and the 
leaves begin to fade, the plants shoidd bo set out-of- 
doors, where they can have plenty of sun and little 
water. By this time, tlic stems will have fallen oil', or 
may be broken otf close to tlio surface of tlio pot—and 
the pots themselves be stowed away in any dry cellar, 
room, or shed, and will take no harm in the dark, 
until the young shoots liave risen a couple of inches in 
the spring. Then they should have light, and shortly 
have the roots divided, so as to have one, or several, 
shoots to a ])ot. If a little more heat than can be com¬ 
manded in a greenhouse window can be given, such as 
the corner of a moderate hotbed, for a month, the plants 
will thank you for it in future. 
IV. Ganna. —Many of the Ganna Indica Gnoois may bo 
preserved in a manner similar to the last, provided dryness 
is attended to. When raising from seed a hotbed must 
be secured. Most of them have rhizome roots, or under¬ 
ground stems, resembling the common ginger. Most of 
them would bo too large for windows, but they would 
look very striking in the centre of baskets and vases. 1 
liave saved the roots of Tndica 'm tliis manner ; and also 
Q. giganteu, a denizen of the south of Europe. I have 
heard of others, such as aurantiaca, coccinea, lanceolata, 
and patens, &c., being so created. But to do them well, 
and get them forward, all would require a help from a 
liotbed for six weeks or more in the spring. 
V. 'Fall growing herbaceous Lobelias.—Om good friend, 
Mr. Ajipleby, has alluded to these lately, and you cannot 
do better than follow his directions. Gardinalis,/ulgcns 
ignea and splcndens, are fine scarlets; I’gramidalis and 
jSgphilitiea are fair blues, all of which may bo easily 
kept. All of them, treated generously with rich compost, 
and plenty of water, do well, either in pots or beds, if 
they got the help of a little extra heat in spring At 
this season, lused to cut over the stems and take up the 
roots, in balls, and pack them in earth in a potting shed, 
or such place, where frost could bo kept from them. 1 
have also built them one above another like bricks 
against a wall, never disturbing tlicm until the heat of 
spring caused the suckers or young plants to move, 
when they were taken out, divided, and potted. Two or 
three old plants now, will give you a hundred then. 
VL Salvia fulgens, patens, coccinea, Ghamicdrifolia, 
&c., may be taken up and kept safely in soil, in sheds, 
during winter. Many will stand in the open grotuid, with 
a slight protection of moss, or coal ashes, similar to the 
hardiest fuchsias. But, with the extra laboTir involved, 
the plants will not bloom so early,nor so freely, as those 
that have been moved and kept dormant in winter. 
Even the last will not heat young plants kept slowdy 
growing in winter; but then the trouble will bo greater, 
and you must find means for giving light, as well as 
keeping out severe frost. 
\TI. Gommelina tuberosa, Mirabilis (Marvel of 
Peru), and Dahlias, may all be treated similarly. The 
first is worthy of more general cultivation, on account 
of its blue colours. The second has nothing of the 
wonderful and marvellous about it now, but still a few 
plants in a small garden are always interesting; and 
the third everybody thinks he can keep, though 1 have 
known many amateurs who have lost their collection 
year al’tcr year. In all, three things, if not essential, 
arc great hel])S to success. 1st. Growth must be checked 
artificially, or by frost, before the plants are cut down. 
2nd. The I'oots should remain in the ground some days 
afterwards; tlio centre top part, however, protected from 
wet and frost. 3rd. When the roots are taken up they ' 
should bo slightly dried, and then packed in dry earth, 
leaving just the tops exposed, and over which you can 
throw piutccting material in frosty weather. The roots 
or tubers will tlius ho kept sound and fresh, and you 
will escape rotting on one hand, and mummy-drying on 
the other. When growing in spring, the shoots may 
be thinned, and the plants potted or planted out at 
once, to receive a little protection; but in all cases, 
growth and llowering would be expedited if the plants 
received a little assistance under glass, in a slight hotbed. 
I stop hero for the jiresent. It will be seen, that a 
small room, or shed, with several bins or platforms, one 
above the another, may thus be made the repository for 
many useful plants. The more light such places have 
the better, as it is easy to block up with coverings in 
severe weather. R. Eisu. 
JOTTINGS BY THE WAY. 
{Continued from page (id.) 
Aeter leaving Coventry I visited Northampton, a 
town almost as ancient as the former. I’lio neighbour¬ 
hood is thickly strewed with the seats of the nobility and 
gentry. The day I arrived I was fortunate enough again 
to witness an Horticultural and I’loricultural exhibition. 
It was held in the new T’own-hall, a splendid, well- 
