320 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, February 23, 1858. 
in tlie open ground, and manage as for biennials; that is, 
sow them thin in rows (sow all flower seeds in row s), if 
the seedlings are not to bloom in the same bed, and 
j transplant them out in damp weather, when they are 
as fit to handle as Lettuce plants from a seed bed; and 
in the autumn, or next spring, remove them to where 
they are to bloom. 
The country is brimful of this Larkspur, and every 
one with a garden ought to have it, and may, have a 
score of it for a few pence, from a packet of seeds; and 
that is just the best way to manage them, unless one 
has plenty of glass room, and time and patience to bring 
them up “by hand” in flower-pots. 
This is a good time to take up, and pot, some of the 
strongest of last year’s seedlings, to be brought forward 
in a gentle heat, so as to come into bloom by the middle 
of May ; the heat of a top shelf, in a cold greenhouse, 
would just suit them, judging from my own stock of 
the Chinese kind ; but, I am going to put in a couple 
of pots of the formosa seedlings of last year, so that I 
may be quite sure, from my own experience, whether 
the thing would be likely to “ pay ” for the flower 
garden. " Anything that I can manage in my own want- 
of-room “ establishment,” need not go to bother the 
authorities of the Experimental, and any one, with a 
grain of experience, may excel me in anything for 
which he or she may have sufficient room. Therefore, 
when I am able to say this will do, it is sure to do ; but 
when, in addition to this, the thing is fully proved in 
the Experimental Garden, my authority for it is in¬ 
fallible, and not knowing but one more infallible au¬ 
thority, was the reason for desiring an order from the 
Vatican to inspect the Experimental Garden; but, if 
“Italicus” will send me his proper address on a 
stamped envelope, I shall have no scruples about 
giving him “ a preference share ” in this infallibility, 
for his own private use. 
Last week I sowed, perhaps, a thousand seeds (no 
matter about the kinds); they ripened too late last 
autumn to be safe, for me, to trust them in pots ; but, 
with my convenience, I do not expect to see many of 
them above ground till the beginning of April, so that 
I must have sown them five weeks, at least, earlier than 
might be thought necessary; they will suit my con¬ 
venience, however; I shall keep the pots dark, or much 
out of the sun, till the seedlings appear, and by that 
means they will require very little water all the time; 
the soil was damp enough at the time I sowed these 
seeds, and the seeds will be in three weeks certain, if 
not a whole month, before the soil is too dry for vege¬ 
tation, and not a drop of water shall they have till then: 
so you see I do more than some of my betters, I prac¬ 
tice what I preach ; I sow for my own convenience in 
the spring, and I advise the practice. But there is a 
deep philosophical move at the bottom of this system. 
Half the world do not yet appreciate the value of a 
practical application of scientific truths, to ordinary or 
“ common things,” and that half give about ten times 
more water to their seed pots than is really necessary. 
They force their seeds in the truest sense, when there 
is not the slightest reason for it, but thousands and 
tens of thousands of poor seedlings suffer for it every 
year of our lives, and no one knows the cause, or stoops 
to study and find it out. 
The effect of putting off’ the sowing of a given kind 
of seed, in pots, till the very day mentioned in the 
“ Calendar,” is this—if the coat of the seed is harder, 
or more soft than usual, the usual treatment will not 
bring out the seedling, according to the spirit of the 
Calendar. A harder seed will take more time to 
vegetate, and the soft less time, and less water. If 
the seed is valuable, the “usual” course should be 
modified; more time should be given to the seed to 
vegetate, and much less water than most people be¬ 
lieve to be necessary. This last modification will 
induce the first, and my own seeds, which are valuable 
enough, in my estimation, are now exactly under these 
very conditions ; and I know, that the longer time they 
take to vegetate, and the less water I give them in the 
meantime, the more vigorous, and less liable to injury 
will my seedlings come to hand. Common and ordinary 
seeds and bulbs will do very well with common and 
ordinary care, but varieties in both will pay best by 
being better cared for. There is nothing more hazard¬ 
ous, than to water a delicate bulb the moment it is 
potted; the soil should be just sufficiently damp, at 
the time of potting, to effect growth; and to make the 
effect more lasting, the pot should not be exposed to 
the sun, or dry air, till the leaves are in motion. That, 
too, is exactly the best rule for valuable seeds. 
But, I am sadly in want of a rule by which to learn 
to copy manuscript; that is the last thing that I think 
I shall ever be fit for. I would much rather write out 
a fresh article for The Cottage Gardener, than re¬ 
vise one that was just finished with this very pen ; and 
that is the best apology I can offer to Mr. Kidd, for 
omitting to give the pith of his new mode of striking 
soft-wooded cuttings. His plan is perfectly original, 
but in transcribing his letter last week, I left out the 
best part of it. I have seen him since, and we talked 
it over. The system is a combination, or amalga¬ 
mation, of two other systems, one of which was in 
vogue before he or I were born, and the other has 
been tried in London, without any one there coming 
to a just conclusion on the subject. 
To strike cuttings in flower-pot saucers, in nothing 
else but sand, I had seen in the Pine Apple Place 
Nursery, when Mr. Appleby was there; the saucers 
were placed on a shelf over the front path, in one of 
the Geranium houses, and about nine inches from the 
glass; the cuttings were of Geraniums. I thought, 
at the time, that I exposed Geranium cuttings more 
than most men, but here I was “ done for ; ” that is 
one way; and the next way is the oldest I ever heard 
of, for getting cuttings of the Oleander. It was to 
put them in vials of water, and to hang up the vials in 
the front windows. Watercress will come from cut¬ 
tings on the dining-table, if you throw pieces of it 
in a basin of water, and so will Mimulus. It is, 
therefore, evident that some cuttings will grow in sand 
in the sun, and other cuttings will grow in water out 
of the sun. Now, mix the two systems, and you have 
Mr. Kidd’s mode to the very letter. He has tried it, 
proved it, and he is quite certain it is better and more 
safe, with much less care, than any other mode what¬ 
ever, for Verbenas, Calceolarias, Lobelias, and a host 
of similar plants. Also, that one boy can put in as 
many cuttings as five men can make in the time; he 
fills the saucer one-half with white sand, and one-half 
with water, or makes the sandy watery compound 
thick enough to hold up the cutting. If it was all 
water, the cuttings would fall over on one side, but 
it is held upright; it wants no watering, of course, 
and the cuttings will root rather faster than in the 
usual way, under the same degree of heat. For a 
kitchen window, this is the best way in the world for 
cuttings. D. Beaton. 
INSECTS WHICH INFEST FORCING 
HOUSES. 
Many of the older members of the gardening pro¬ 
fession will recollect with what dread the attacks of 
the Red Spider, with various scaly insects, bugs, &c., 
were regarded in fruit forcing. As for red spiders; why, 
it was almost a marvel they did not run away with 
I the Vines and Peaches altogether ; for all ablutions 
