THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
7 
April 3.] 
THE ROSARY. 
Propagation'. By Cuttings. —Whenever any one be¬ 
comes possessed of a beautiful flowering plant, be very 
properly desires to increase it, and in proportion to its 
facility of sending out roots from a small portion of the 
esteemed plant (which is usually called a cutting, but 
sometimes a slip) , lie will be tempted to try his skill, and 
be pleased, if he is successful. Now, there are few plants 
of a woody texture that strike or throw out roots more 
I readily than the Rose, especially that class called the 
| China and the Tea-scented. The Bourbons and Noisettes, 
also, strike readily, and so do the Hybrids of these 
I classes. Neither need the cottager or the amateur 
deprive themselves of the pleasure of propagating their 
Roses in this way, though they may not have any con¬ 
venience but a shady border. We will, however, sup¬ 
pose, first, that every convenience for striking Roses by 
cuttings is within the reach of the cultivator. These 
conveniences are a pit heated with hot water, and a tan- 
bed to plunge the cutting-pots in. With this apparatus, 
and proper soil to put the cutting in, every one, or nearly 
' so, ought to grow. The first thing to do is to procure 
some good virgin loam, put it through a coarse sieve, 
and lay it up under shelter for a week or two to become 
moderately dry, then have the requisite number of pots, 
I either new or clean-washed, ready, together with a quan¬ 
tity of broken potsherds for drainage. The best season 
| to commence this operation is the month of either March 
or April. Cuttings should be made of last year’s wood, 
cut into short lengths. If there is one bud below the 
soil with the leaf cut off, and another bud just above 
the soil with the leaf on it, the cutting is large enough. 
In planting the cuttings observe two things: first, to 
insert it nearly close up to the top ; and, secondly, to 
place it so that the leaves on it shall point inwards. But 
previously to making the cuttings, have the pots ready, 
! by first draining them well, an operation we need not 
stop to describe, as it has been often dwelt upon in The 
Cottage Gardener. Next, fill the jmts with the pure 
loam, and a covering of sand, water it gently, and let it 
stand to settle whilst you are making the cuttings. 
Make no more at once than will fill one pot. Insert the 
cuttings in the manner above described round the edge 
of the pot, marking each kind in some way, either by 
number or name, so as to know them. Make the soil 
firm about the end of each cutting, and fill up the holes 
made by each planting-stick with some more sand, give 
a gentle watering, and plunge the pots in the tan-bed, 
shade from bright sun, and water when the surface is 
dry. We shall give a list shortly of the kinds most 
i suitable to be propagated by this method. 
T. Appleby. 
Propagating Roses. —I can well recollect the ex¬ 
citement, with which I watched the first cuttings I 
[ succeeded in rooting. They were inserted firmly in 
: pots, were honoured with the window sill inside, 
' morning, evening and night, but were duly ensconced 
beneath the table, that stood close to the window, 
whenever the sun’s rays came round to them. 
Many a tickling of the inquisitive bump took place, 
1 before 1 could do anything to unravel the mystery of root- 
1 ing; many a horse laugh was raised at my expense, when 
quietly placing my doubts before elder blue aprons, 
such a laugh as is often raised to cover the ignorance 
| that strides in the assumption of superior wisdom. 
There were no cheap and easy methods of. getting at 
knowledge then. One of the contributors to this work, 
was almost the only young gardener I had then heard 
of, who out of eight or nine shillings, per week, would 
have (I think the quarterly or monthly issue of) 
Loudon’s Magazine. But with all the extra knowledge 
1 now diffused, the striking from cuttings is just as 
■ exciting to new beginners as ever it was, and never will 
they feel more anxious as to the causes of success, than 
when they are achieving its pleasing results. 
Among other plants now demanding increase of 
numbers, the queen of flowers should not be neglected. 
All the China group, the Tea-scented, the Bourbons, the 
Noisettes, most of the perpetuals, and a great many of 
these with the prefix hybrid as a handle to their name, 
may now, and for a few weeks to come, be struck by 
cuttings with great ease, if a little trouble only be 
incurred. This, with all the tender kinds, should take 
place at the period when they receive their final pruning, 
as what is removed will often be valuable for tliis 
purpose. The first thing necessary, is nice stubby 
young shoots, proceeding from last year’s wood, of from 
one and a half to three inches in length. The second, 
cutting these off with a heel, close to the older wood; 
dressing them by removing the lower leaflets, and then 
allowing the base to dry for several hours, placing a 
little damp moss meanwhile on the tops of the cuttings; ! 
and thirdly, inserting these cuttings round the sides of 
pots, filled with light, sandy soil, well drained, and then 
plunging them in a mild hotbed; or fourthly, and this 
is better than the last; when numbers are to be 
provided for, make a slight hotbed, consisting of from 
twelve to eighteen inches of dung and leaves, to suit 
either hand lights or a small frame, with one or two 
sliding sashes; place some rough soil over the manure, 
and then several inches of light, sandy material, 
terminating all with a sprinkling of sand and charcoal 
dust; water, press down, allow the heat to rise a little, 
and then firmly insert the cuttings; syringe and shade 
in sunny weather, give air when warm, especially at 
night, the object being to have the extra heat, chiefly at 
the base of the cutting; pick oft’ a decayed or damped 
leaf when necessary, and if due attention is paid, you 
will be rewarded in a few weeks with a number of plants, 
that if well treated will blow the same season. Many 
roses will strike root as cuttings, when thus slipped up 
close to last year’s wood, when young, in this herbaceous 
looking state, that will not strike at all easily at any 
other time. We have, in our time, succeeded with 
almost every kind by this mode; but Provence, and 
Moss, and Scotch, were so bad to manage, that the little , 
success we had with them might well be termed a failure. 
R. Fish. 
GREENHOUSE AND WINDOW 
GARDENING. 
GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF GREENHOUSE-( Continued. 
from vol. v. p. 398). 
Time of Potting. —This, when necessary, should gene¬ 
rally be done after pruning, and when fresh growth has 
taken place. The reason for this is, that it is advisable 
never to give more checks to a plant at once than cannot 
be avoided. The cutting down is a check, the repotting 
or shifting is another. Therefore, in both cases, we 
apply an extra stimulus for a short time immediately 
after, by keeping the plants closer and warmer. Some 
of our friends may wish to perform both operations at 
once, and thus save labour; but such wisdom will 
generally be found to be throwing away the pound to 
save the shilling. When cut down, or pruned, the 
energies in the stems, and unmutilated, untouched roots, 
are at once put forth in the production of fresh shoots. 
When these are formed and forming, and the plant is 
kept close for a time after shifting, fresh roots will soon 
he formed through their agency, upon the same prin¬ 
ciple that roots are protruded from a cutting of half- 
ripened wood under a hand-glass. The time, mode, 
preparation, &c., for potting have lately been referred to. 
Time for Cuttings. —Every family has its family pecu¬ 
liarities ; now we speak merely in general terms. I in- 
