200 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 16. 
latter best, because, when they are used, the plants 
receive all the benefit of gentle showers of warm spring 
and summer rain, which keep the plants clean and 
healthy, and prevent the attacks of the red spider. 
The Pink, Carnation, and Picotee, as treated by the 
scientific and painstaking ilorist, are little more than 
biennial flowers; that is, two-year-ohl plants, the first 
year making growth of plant, and in the second, growth 
of bloom. After the bloom is over, the layers and pipings 
taken off, and seed saved, the old plants are generally 
thrown away. Florists, from long experience, have 
proved that the old plants, however well cultivated, 
scarcely ever produce perfect flowers. This point every 
grower intending to exhibit, or to grow good flowers only 
lor his own gratification, should attend to, and never 
depend upon two-year-old plants for that purpose. The 
old plants, however, need not be thrown away, but as 
soon as the bloom is over, all such as are not intended 
to seed, may be taken up carefully, the roots partially 
pruned, and then the plants may be planted in the 
common border. If inserted a little deeper, new roots 
will soon be formed, and dense plants of considerable 
size will be the result. If there is no room in the cul¬ 
tivator’s garden, they would be highly acceptable to 
such gardeners or cottagers as have no wish to become 
florists. T. Appleby. 
(To be continued .) 
CONIFE1LE. 
(Continued from page 165.) 
Propagation : By Seed .—All the common kinds of 
Firs, such as the Larch, the Spruce Fir, the Scotch Fir, 
the Balm of Gilead Fir, the common Yew, and, in fact, 
all the more common species, should be sown in beds in 
the open air. A light, open, sandy soil should be 
chosen for that purpose. If it is not so naturally, it 
should be made so by adding sand freely to it. If it 
can be procured easily, a free addition of sandy peat 
will be very desirable and useful. The beds should be 
prepared in the autumn, by digging and mixing the 
materials, leaving the surface in as rough a state as 
possible, so that the frost may act upon, aud pulverise 
the soil. The cones should be gathered as soon as the 
seeds are ripe, which may be known by opening one or 
two, aud if the outer coat of the seed is of a dark 
brown colour, it is then fit to gather. This generally 
happens in September or October. If gathering be de¬ 
ferred much later, the cones will open and shed the seeds. 
When gathered, the cones should be carried home, and 
as many kinds have the seed very much secured in the 
cones, so that it is difficult to get it out, it is necessary 
to lay them in a heated room, to cause the cones to 
open their scales and let the seeds drop out. I re¬ 
member, when very young, having fine sport in excur¬ 
sions into the woods to gather Larch and Scotch cones. 
When we got a sufficient quantity they were placed 
upon the drying-floor of a malt-kiln, and there they 
laid long enough to open the cones. They were then 
spread thin upon a boarded floor, and the labourers 
thrashed them with flails, such as they used for thrash¬ 
ing corn. By these means the seeds were separated 
from the cones, dried, and put away till the sowing 
time arrived. .1 he month of April is the right time for 
this operation. 1 he ground will then be in fine con¬ 
dition; it should bo levelled and forked over; the 
walks set out, and the surface-soil, to the depth of two 
inches, drawn off into the walks with a rake; then 
sow the seed rather thickly, and cover it in with the 
soil drawn off on each side into the walks; this should 
| be made very fine before it is laid upon the seed; half- 
j an-inch will be quite thick enough. Previous to laying 
it on, let the seed be gently patted down with the back 
of a spade; this levels it, and secures it from being 
disturbed out of its place by spreading the soil upon it. 
Should the weather be dry, it will be necessary to water 
the beds, but it must be applied very gently, or it will 
harden the surface so much as to prevent the plants 
bursting through it. After they have made their ap¬ 
pearance, they will require no further care, excepting 
weeding, till the following spring, when they should be 
transplanted into nursery rows in the usual way. 
The more rare species, and also imported seeds of 
such kinds as Araucaria imbricata, the Deodar Cedar , 
&c., should be sown in boxes or pans, in a light, sandy 
compost of loam and peat, and placed in a heat of 
65° till they grow. They should then be removed into 
a cold pit, kept pretty close for a time, and gradually 
hardened-off till they are large enough to transplant 
singly into small pots. In their young state, those rare 
kinds should not be planted-out at once into beds in 
the open air; it is safer to put them into small pots, 
and shelter them in frames or pits for the first year. 
They may then be planted-out in nursery beds, in a 
sheltered situation, and kept there till they are planted 
in the place where they are to remain for life. I am no 
advocate for keeping them year after year in pots till 
they attain a considerable size. If they are so managed, 
the roots become twisted round the sides of the pot," 
and when planted-out for good are always liable to be 
blown down with heavy gales of wind. It is much 
better to have them planted-out in nursery-rows, and 
have them transplanted every other year, placing them 
at wider distances as they grow larger. By these fre¬ 
quent removals they form numerous fibrous roots, and 
can be removed safely, even when a considerable size. 
The best managing nurserymen practice this mode, not 
only with Conifers, but also with all kinds of evergreen 
shrubs, such as Hollies and Laurels, and with most 
perfect success. Such oft-removed trees scarce ever fail 
when finally planted where they are to grow into trees 
and large shrubs. 
There are some kinds of Conifers that produce very 
large seeds; these should be sown singly, in small pots 
(the Araucarias are an instance) ; in these pots they are 
safe from the danger of transplanting, and can be easily 
transferred to a larger pot as soon as the roots reach 
the sides of the first pots. This point must be carefully 
attended to early, or the roots will become matted and 
twisted, and thus hinder the future progress of the trees. 
This repotting will carry them through the first winter, 
and encourage their growth greatly. Early the spring- 
following, they should be planted-out, even if they 
require a temporary shelter from late spring frost. This 
shelter will be sufficiently afforded by turning the pots 
over the plants whenever there is the least appearance 
of frost. This may appear a troublesome affair, but 
precaution like this is always safe, and the trouble is 
nothing compared with the safety of such valuable 
plants. I recommend early planting, chiefiy to prevent 
what T have a great objection to—the matting of the 
roots round the sides of the pots. Tt might be objected, 
why plant so early? I answer, because the roots grow 
strong and quickly as soon as the weather becomes 
mild in early spring, and thus a very few weeks’ neglect 
does much mischief. Therefore, I say again, plant-out 
in nursery rows early, and shelter the plants from late 
spring frosts. T. Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
WATERING—ITS USES AND ABUSES. 
It has been often and truly said, that our best directed 
efforts at mixing and preparing the various composts 
which many plants require often come short of the 
