THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 
288 
plants with a rose watering-pot, to settle the earth 
round them and wash the leaves. For the first ten 
days or a fortnight keep them in a close warm room 
without sun. In about six weeks, say late in Sep¬ 
tember, shift them into larger pots, and put a layer 
of rotten dung over the crocks and moss. Turn the 
ball of earth into the new pot, raising it under and 
idling it round with fresh mould. Look at the healthi¬ 
ness and general appearance of the roots; if you find 
them all right, put them into the flowering-pots at 
once; but if not, put them in smaller pots, in order 
to shift them into larger pots in the spring. Keep 
them again a little time in a close room after this re¬ 
move, but a little sun will not then hurt them. If 
there are more than six or eight shoots on a plant, 
rub off the others where they grow thickest together 
or are weakest, and if they crowd each other tie them 
to small sticks set in round the pot, so as to keep 
them in a slanting position, trained out and free from 
each other. About the end of January stop or pinch 
off an inch or two of the shoot, if you wish them to 
blow late or about midsummer. At the end of Fe¬ 
bruary stop others, to blow later. No stimulants or 
liquid-manure to be given them till the blossom-buds 
appear, then soapsuds or other strong water may be 
used, adding one-half rain-water to it, and giving the 
plants clear water alternately with this mixture. 
When the room is cleaned or dusted at any time, put 
the plants outside ; if the weather is fine and warm, 
or otherwise, carry them into another room. 
T. Morgan. 
[Mr. Beaton highly approves of this epitome of 
geranium culture, and recommends all young gar¬ 
deners to adopt a similar mode of impressing know¬ 
ledge on their minds. He adds the following useful 
direction:—“ When we want pelargonium-flowers all 
the year round, I cut a number of plants about the 
middle of April, and the bulk of our stock about the 
first week in October; and I keep stopping some of 
the plants until the end of May.”—En. C. G.] 
EXTRACTS EROM CORRESPONDENCE. 
Chrysanthemum Layers. —In reference to your 
article on chrysanthemums (p. 230, No. 44), 1 fancy 
I can tell you of a plan pursued by my own gardener 
whereby not only the “ 25 per cent.” of young layers 
may be greatly reduced, but not five per cent, even 
when “tongued” will be lost. As soon as the cut is 
made bind a little long moss round the wound, rather 
moist, and let it be secured by some fine bass, but not 
too tightly; you may then bend the layer as deep as 
you please into the pot, and I do not think more than 
one in fifty will break; the roots strike almost imme¬ 
diately through the moss, and I have found very good 
plants indeed from this process, quite as luxuriant 
and as quickly struck as from the plan you advocate, 
and in my own case very much less hazardous.— Rev. 
C. H. Browne. 
[This is a very good plan, but Mr. Beaton informs 
us that a twist given to the shoot about to be layered, 
just below where the roots are wished to issue, is 
nearly as good as tongueing it.— Ed. C. G.] 
Asparagus. —I invite my brother horticulturists to 
try an experiment with me. Observing that an as¬ 
paragus root on one of my beds produced liner heads 
and in greater abundance than any other, I thought 
of raising seedlings from it, but year after year it pro¬ 
duced no seed, therefore, like the mistress who had an 
ill-natured cook that would never instruct a fellow- 
servant, resolved on teaching one to be as good a cook 
as the old one, so I resolved on trying to bring other 
roots to the standard of the favourite one. My first 
object was to give them somewhat of the character 
of tiro superior one, tli ore fore I assisted them to be 
sterile like it, and their berries last year, when half- 
grown, were stripped off, an operation which may 
quickly be performed without destroying the foliage, 
which, of course, should be injured as little as possi¬ 
ble. I cannot affirm that it was this treatment alone 
that produced all the advantage, for last autumn I 
used salt more freely than before (a pound to a square 
yard), but the result this year was finer asparagus 
and about three times the quantity that .1 ever be¬ 
fore obtained from the same beds. After relieving 
the plants from their labour of seeding I think that 
a good soaking of liquid-manure should be applied. 
I dare say that more experienced gardeners than my¬ 
self know all about this treatment, but as they have 
not benefited then’ contemporaries by telling of its 
success, I put it on paper, Mr. Editor, either to en¬ 
lighten the cottage gardener or your Havannah.— 
B. M. 
To Preserve Pyrus Japonica Apples. —We had 
collected them as they dropped off from time to time 
for their scent, and having at Christmas several look¬ 
ing rosy and ripe we pared them very thin and placed 
them in a well-covered jar, witli their rind on the top 
of the fruit, and a very little water, and coddled them 
thus in a Bain Marie, keeping the steam in closely, 
over a slow fire, till they were soft. They soften more 
easily than the quince. Let them stand till cold. 
Prepare a good syrup of double-refined sugar : boil 
and skim it well, then put in the pyrus fruit to boil 
ten minutes, and set it aside a couple of hours; then 
boil them again till the syrup looks thick and the 
fruit clear. Put it into the preserving pots, and when 
cold tie it down. The same proportion of sugar as 
for quinces. 
Saving Seed. —Last year I resolved upon trying 
to save some garden seeds, and now I wish to give 
you the residt of what I call a complete failure. I 
selected a few fine cauliflowers, two or three of the 
best kind of radishes, well-coloured and well-formed ; 
one sort of lettuce, namely Bath Cos; and one good 
kind of cabbage. These being all I can prove at 
present, I wish to give you the result. Of the cab¬ 
bage I have about half a dozen sorts, neither cabbages 
nor savoys; the radishes are neither turnips nor 
carrots in shape, varying in colour from a light 
purple to a complete black, and very tough, although 
well watered; the lettuces are not worth keeping; 
and the cauliflowers are full of green leaves, and a 
very dark brown in colour. Now, I find that, after 
paying a boy to keep off the birds, the value of the 
ground as regards other crops, and my trouble in 
cleaning the seeds, I had better have paid double for 
them, say nothing shout the almost, I may say, total 
loss of my vegetables for this season ; ami what 
puzzles me the most is that I do not think there was 
a bit of seed saved within a mile of me, except that 
a cottager may have had a bit of turnip seed in one 
corner of his garden. Perhaps you will be so kind 
as to inform me, as well as others at the same time, 
the reason that wo eannot depend on our own saved 
seed. I have learnt from some of my neighbours 
since, if they save a little seed, and have more than 
they want for their own use, no respectable seeds¬ 
man will have it at any price.—R. Stevens. 
[Saving seed is a most precarious department of 
gardening. Cauliflower seed, to be true, has to be 
brought yearly from Italy. That of the Brussels 
sprouts can only be obtained perfect from one dis- 
