460 THE COTTAGE GARDENER. March 13. 
colour, only instead of being round they are compressed, 
angular, and transparent. An excellent syrup is made of 
the berries, and frequently prescribed in obstinate fevers. 
The roots, too, as well as the liowers and bark of the fruit, 
are used for several purposes in medicine. 
But as the Promegranate requires a warm temperature to 
ripen its fruit, it is only grown near Paris for ornament, and 
commonly in tubs and boxes, so as to admit of being re¬ 
moved into shelter during the winter months. Some fine 
examples of it may be seen at the garden of the Luxern- 
bourgh, and also at the Versailles ; but a great number of 
young plants are grown for the supply of the Paris markets. 
PROPAGATING POT. 
I enclose a sketch of a pot which is much in use here in 
gardens and nurseries, for propagating certain kinds of 
trees and plants, particularly such as are more commonly 
increased by the inarching or layering process than by 
cuttings, as Magnolias, Acacias, and others. It differs from 
the pot which is usually employed for the same purpose in 
having a cut down the side, from the rim almost quite to 
the bottom. This cut, or opening, is about half-an-inch 
wide, sufficient to admit readily, without much bending or 
pressure, the branch or twig which it is desired to root 
in the pot, which has this advantage, that much shorter 
and younger branches can be propagated with it than with 
that in common use for growing plants. It may be observed, 
that the bend in the twig facilitates the production of roots 
by arresting the flow of the sap ; but, however sound or 
plausible this argument may be in some cases, it does not 
appear that the neglect of it is followed by any inconvenience 
in practice, so long as the usual cut is made. 
This pot is used with much advantage in propagating on 
walls, to which it is fastened by means of a nail and string. 
The twig, after being properly prepared, is then introduced, 
and the pot filled with soil in the ordinary way. 
The width of the cut at the side varies with the size of 
the pot, but the average is between a quarter and half-an- 
inch; and though it might seem that the soil would be liable 
to be washed away by the rain, this is found not to be the 
case, for the decrease from that or any similar cause is 
scarcely perceptible. Perhaps the chief advantage of this 
construction of pot is the greater ease with which the 
operation of laying in the branches may be performed; 
there is, therefore, a greater amount of work done in a 
given time than may be accomplished by the common 
process. But the operation of layering in pots, either on 
this or the old model, can only be performed with the help 
of shelves or scaffolding, for, as the pots are nearly always 
raised above the ground, owing to the very nature of this 
mode of propagating, some standing room must be provided 
for them. Very true, where the work is with wall-trees, the 
pots may be hung, but it is more frequently in tbe open 
ground, and then some sort of scaffolding becomes indis¬ 
pensable. When a dozen or so of pots are to be supported 
at different points round a tree, and both above and below, 
the erection of boards is often an affair of some magnitude, 
incurring labour and expense, which are seldom cheerfully 
given. I, therefore, add to my sketch of the French pot, 
what I propose as a substitute for this cumberous expedient, 
being simply a little clay stuck on at one side, and formed 
into a perpendicular tube of any suitable width, so as to 
admit of the pots being firmly placed on a stick driven into 
the ground. Of course, this tube is only to be fixed on in 
the process of making the pot, and it is for nurserymen and 
others to consider whether it might be worth their while to 
have a few dozen of such pots made. I do not see any 
reasonable objection to the introduction of this contrivance. 
These pots might be supported as firmly on stout sticks as 
the common pots can be on shelves or boards; and whether 
for trees or walls, or in the open ground, they would be in¬ 
finitely more convenient and manageable than the clumsy 
erections sometimes used by propagators. As to the form 
of the tube, it might be either cylindrical or rectangular, 
but it would be desirable to incline it a little towards the 
top, in order to keep it from slipping, or a nail driven in the 
stick immediately under it would answer the same purpose. 
RUSTIC BASKETS AND VASES. 
There is a great variety of rustic baskets, ornamental 
vases, and flower-stands to be seen here. Some of them 
are very pretty, and display much skill in design and con¬ 
struction. Tbe baskets and vases are made both to hang 
and stand; the latter arc very often in stained glass, in the 
form of shells, elegant salvers, or flowers more or less 
modified; but the commonest material used for these 
things is Porcelain. Flower vases, either in Porcelain or 
glass, afford much scope for the fancy of an artist. Besides 
being beautiful in design, they are almost always more or 
less finished with gilding, or studded with small groups of 
figures and landscapes in oil colour. The baskets and 
stands are generally made of wood in the usual way, but 
they are remarkable for lightness and firmness. Their 
decorations consist of branches, and sometimes bouquets 
composed of small pieces of thin white wood, neatly 
! arranged, and glued, or fastened on with little tacks. Of 
course, these flowers and branches are, for the most part, 
i quite flat. One or two drawings, however, would give a far 
1 better idea of such things than the longest or most accurate 
description, and these I shall forward at a future time. 
Rustic seats of all sizes for gardens, &c., are commonly 
made here of cast iron, and in several pieces, so as to 
admit -of removal without inconvenience. The natural 
stumps and branches, as they are usually prepared for such 
a purpose, are carefully imitated, both in form and colour, 
even to the very moss and lichens, and when such a seat is 
seen in an appropriate place the counterfeit might pass 
unnoticed. 
PARIS HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION. 
The Commissioners of the great Exhibition here have 
just issued a circular relating to horticultural products, 
which, as it appears, are to bo excluded from the magnificent 
building now in the course of preparation, and which, it is 
stated, is designed especially for the exhibition of what 
more properly belongs to art and industry. But the 
government empowers the Imperial Horticultural Society to 
invite the horticulturists both of France and foreign 
countries to contribute to a permanent horticultural exhibi- 
bition, which the Society is encouraged to organise, and 
which is to last from the 1st of May to the 31st October of 
the present year. This Exhibition will be held in the 
immediate vicinity of the “ Industrial Palace,” in a large 
garden, where suitable houses and other requisites will be 
amply provided for every kind of garden produce, as plants, 
