24 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
i 
[April 10. 
clean charcoal, hut not mere dust, that being separated 
by a very fine sieve, the cuttings will strike all the 
sooner, and be less liable to damp off. The pots should 
, be well watered, and the pots allowed to drain before 
inserting the cuttings, the making of which consists in 
removing a few of the lower leaves, and cutting clean 
; across with a sharp knife, and then the small holes 
! made by the dibber should be filled with sand, and all 
gently settled with fresh watering, and the cuttings and 
surface sand allowed to get dry before the conical-headed 
bell-glasses are firmly fixed over them. They may then 
be placed in a close frame or pit, about eighteen inches 
from the sashes, in April, and two feet in May; and in 
such a position they will require little shading, and but 
little watering, until they are struck. As soon as that 
I has taken place, the plants must be elevated nearer the 
glass, the bell-glass removed by degrees, taking it off 
first at night, then mornings and afternoons, and ulti¬ 
mately altogether. In the case of cuttings struck with 
| so little soil to feed on, and in the case of all plants 
i raised by seed, the sooner they are pricked off the fewer 
will be the casualties, and the better will they thrive. 
By Inarching and Grafting. —The first is seldom 
practised, owing to its inconvenience; the second is often 
resorted to, as the means of procuring a good sized plant 
much more quickly than from seeds or cuttings. It is 
of importance to have stocks of free growiug kinds, such 
as decussata and dupracea. These should be from two 
to three years old from seedling or cutting. All that is 
necessary is to have the stock a little in advance of the 
scion, and then, provided you can make the inner bark of 
both unite, it matters little what mode be adopted ; 
though side and slit grafting will generally be the neatest 
i and quickest done. A few twigs may be left on the 
! stock to draw up the sap until the scion has fairly taken. 
! A close frame or pit will be desirable, and if a little 
steam from sweet dung and leaves, the union will take 
place all the sooner, from the excitement and moisture. 
April is the best time. Air must be given afterwards 
I gradually, and the scion allowed to monopolize the 
whole strength of the stock. This mode is most appli- 
i cable for all the low, slow growing kinds, as thus addi¬ 
tional vigour is imparted to them. 
Potting. —I have already stated that young seedlings 
and struck cuttings can scarcely be potted too early. It 
is an error, however, to suppose that each of these tiny 
things must have a pot to itself. Like many young 
animals, young plants in general flourish best in the 
gregarious state. However small the thumb-pot in 
which you pot a little seedling or cutting, it will not, 
without very great attention, thrive so well in such a 
pot as it would do in the company of two, or three, or 
four fixed round the sides of a 4-incli pot. This arises 
from the greater variation in temperature, moisture, &c., 
in the first cases, over what would take place in the 
second, and also by the greater resistance made to the 
expansion of roots by the side of the pot, in the latter 
case, which thus elicits a healthier and more robust vital 
action to surmount the impediment. Which child pos¬ 
sesses the healthiest, best formed, strongest limbs ? The 
one kept scrupulously neat and clean, and never out of 
a nurse’s arms; or the one allowed to roll and bump and 
crawl upon the floor, and thus allow his joints to feel 
the resistance of mother earth? Undoubtedly the latter. 
After potting, a close atmosphere should be maintained, 
until growth has fairly commenced; when the plants 
have thus gained strength in their nursing pots, they 
may be shifted separately into small pots; and then,after 
another potting or two, they may be continued upon the 
regular shift system, or transferred at once to large pots 
•upon the one shift system. 
Soil .—Three-fourths of sandy fibry peat, one-fourth 
of fibry loam, one-fourth of silver sand, broken charcoal, 
and broken pots, well mixed together. All to be rough 
1 and lumpy, but the degree to be regulated by the size of 
; the pot, and the size of the shift, from that of small 
: peas, to that of beans, marbles, and walnuts. 
Draining must be carefully attended to. 
Watering. —Clear, soft water should be used, unless 
when swelling their flower-buds and growth is com- 
1 mencing, when weak, clear manure water, from old cow 
dung, may be given for a few weeks. If other dung is 
1 substituted it should be of a cool nature. During 
I winter the water should be warmer than the medium 
temperature. 
■ Heat. —The whole of the genus may be kept in winter 
at a medium artificial heat of 40°, suffering neither for a 
1 short sinking or rising of 5°, with an allowance of 10°, 
1 and 15° for sun-heat, and the admission then of as much 
air as can safely be given. In the height of the summer, 
a cool, shady place will be the best; but they must have 
unimpeded sunshine in autumn to ripen the wood. 
Position. —As much light as possible in winter and 
spring, before blooming; shaded, and cool then; close 
and warm, when making fresh wood; a cold pit, kept 
close after May, will be the thing ; or a close, shady corner 
in the greenhouse the substitute; expose by degrees to 
sun and air, if very bright in the end of July and begin¬ 
ning of August; shade again for a little, and expose 
fully in autumn, protecting the pot from hot sunshine; 
and house before there is danger from frost and cold 
autumn rains. If wanted, a temperature of from 45° 
to 50° artificial heat will bring the most of them into 
bloom early in spring; but if they have not plenty of 
light and air along with that temperature, the plants 
will become thin, and the blooms be deficient in colour. 
Insects. —The plants are chiefly annoyed by a white 
scale, the red spider, and sometimes by the green fly. 
For the first, dip in a solution of gum water, or one of 
clay and mud will do as well, allow the plants to re¬ 
main in a shady place twenty-four hours, rub oft’ the 
adhering matter when dry with a brush, and then well 
syringe, the plant being laid on its broadside; for the 
second, syringe, and heat some flowers of sulphur on a 
hot water plate; and for the third, fumigate with a little 
tobacco. R. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC STOVE PLANTS. 
: Stove Annuals. —Some inquiries having been made 
as to the best way of cultivating Balsams and Cockscombs, 
I shall devote my paper this week to the culture of stove 
annuals, the class to which they belong, as this is the 
i season for sowing them. There are several species that 
are very ornamental, and serve to fill up and keep the 
stove elegantly gay through the summer months. 
The Balsam ( Impatiens hortensis) ; East Indies.— 
This handsome annual was introduced so long since as 
1590, and when well grown few plants are more beautiful. 
Culture. — Soil. —As it is a gross feeder it requires 
a very rich soil; take of turf, from a good pasture 
field, three or four inches thick, laid up on a heap for 
twelve months, and turned over frequently during that 
time—one barrowful; add to it another barrowful of well 
decomposed sheep’s clung, or, if that cannot be had, the 
same quantity of well broken down hotbed manure. 
Mix these well together in a moderately dry state, to be 
used as rough as possible; if the mixture is made two 
or three months before wanted, and turned over two or 
three times during that time, the better will they be 
incorporated. A little leaf-mould would be a beneficial 
addition, but this may be applied at the time of potting. 
Raising the Plants. —Sow the seeds about this time in 
some of the compost sifted, drain the pots (5^ inches 
wide); fill the pots nearly, level the soil, pressing it down 
gently, then sow the seed rather thinly, cover it with 
I 
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