THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, July 3, I860. 
215 
by the Hon, and Rev. W. Herbert, who first, tried it, in 1809, by 
setting a putting of a leaf of a Cape Ornithogalum. “ The leaf 
was cut off just below the surface of the earth in an early stage of 
its growth, before the ilower-stalk had begun to rise; and it was 
set in the earth, near the edge of the pot in which the mother 
plant was growing, and so left to its fate. The leaf continued 
quite fresh, and on examination (while the bulb was flowering) 
a number of young bulbs and radical fibres were found adhering 
to it. They appeared to have been formed by the return of the 
sap which had nourished the leaf. Thereupon two or three more 
leaves were taken off and placed in like situations; but they 
turned yellow, and died without producing any bulbs. It 
appeared to me then, and it was confirmed by subsequent expe¬ 
rience, that in order to obtain a satisfactory result the leaf must 
be taken off while the plant is advancing in its growth. I found 
it easy thus to multiply some bulbs that did not willingly pro¬ 
duce offsets. I afterwards tried, without cutting the leal off, to 
make an oblique incision in it under ground, and in some cases 
just, above ground—-attempting, in fact, to raise bulbs by layering 
the leaf. This attempt was also successful, and some young bulbs 
were formed on the edge of the cut above ground as well as 
below. I tried cuttings of the stem of some species of Lilium, 
and obtained bulbs at the axil of the leaf, as well as from the 
scales of the bulb ; and that practice has been since much resorted 
to by gardeners, though I believe it originated with me. I raised 
a great number of bulbs of the little plant which has been suc¬ 
cessively called Massonia, Scilla, and Hyacinthus corymbosus, by 
setting a pot full of its leaves, and placing a bell-glass over them 
for a short time. A bulb was obtained with equal facility from 
a leaf of a rare species of Eucomis; and experiments with the 
leaves of Lachenalias were equally successful. I apprehend that 
ell liliaceous bulbs may be thus propagated ; but the more fleshy 
the leaf, the more easily the object will be attained.”—( Gard. 
Chron. for 1841, page 381.) 
Leaves and parts of leaves of the following plants were rooted 
in charcoal by M. Lucas, of Munich, in 1839 :—Half-leaves of 
Piereskia, and leaves of Euphorbiafastuosa, in a short time filled 
their pots so full of roots that they were obliged to be repotted. 
In from eight to fourteen days leaves of Cecropia palmata. 
Oxalic mandioccana, O. purpurea , Euphorbia fastnosa, Cyclamen 
Indicum, Lophospermum scandens, Martynia craniola/na, Begonia 
monoptera, B. bulhifera , Ipomcea superba, Mesembryanthemum 
tigrinum, Gesnera laiifolia, G. atro-sanguinea, Sinningia guttata , 
Biper piereskicefolium, all sorts of Gloxinia, even calices and 
mere flower-stems, pieces of leaves of Convolvulus Batatas , 
Beireskia grandifolia , Bolianthes Mexicana, and warts of the 
large-warted Mammillaria. 
In three weeks the tops of the leaves of Agave Americana fol. 
var., leaves of Jacaranda Brasiliensis, bundles of leaves of Binus 
excelsa, leaves of Mimosa Eoustoni, and Cyperus vaginatus. 
In five weeks, whole and half-cut leaf-stalks of Encephalatos 
Caffer and Zamia integrifolia produced a number of roots from 
the surface of the cuts. 
Many leaves have not yet made roots, but for a considerable 
time have formed callosities—such as Taurus nitida, Bignonia 
Tel fair ice, Carolinea princeps, Ardisioe, Gardenise, Adansonia 
digitata, Draciena, &c. As experiments that did not succeed, 
we may mention portions of the leaves of Amaryllis and Crinum, 
of Ferns, of tropical Orchide®, of Dasylirion, Tillandsia, Panda- 
nus, Bhormiv.m tenax, of tropical tuberous-rooted Aroide®, old 
leaves of the Agave, and some others which, partly through 
rotting by wet, or 'Other mischances, were prevented from 
growing. 
Leaves with the buds in the axils root freely in the case of 
many species. The buds and leaves are cut out with a small 
portion of the bark and alburnum to each, and planted in sandy 
loam, so deep as just to cover the bud ; the soil being pressed 
firmly against it, and the back of the leaf resting on the surface 
of the soil. Covered with a bell-glass and placed on heat, in a 
short time the buds break through the surface of the soil, and 
elongate into shoots. The late Mr. Ivnight tried this mode with 
double Camellias, Magnolias, Metrosideros, Acacias, Neriums, 
Rhododendrons, and many others, some of which rooted and 
made shoots the same season, and others not till the following 
spring.— {Loudon.) 
That leaves may be made almost universally to emit roots 
there appears little reason to doubt; for the same great physiolo¬ 
gist had long before proved that the roots of trees are generated 
from vessels passing from the leaves through the bark ; and that 
they never, in any instance, spring from the alburnum. But the 
question arises, Will they produce buds ? and, at present, the 
answer derived from practice is in the negative. Orange leuves, 
Roso leaves, leaves of Statice arborea , have been made to root 
abundantly; but, like blind Cabbage-plants, they obstinately 
refused to produce buds. Dr. Lindley thinks that a more 
abundant supply of richer food and exposure to a greater intensity 
of light would have removed this deficiency; and we see every 
reason for concurring with him ; for buds seem to spring from 
the central vessels of plants, and these vessels are never absent 
from a leaf. If an abundant supply of food were given to a well- 
rooted leaf, and it were cut down close to the callus from whence 
the roots are emitted, we think buds would be produced, lor the 
very roots themselves lmvo the same power. 
The soil is an important consideration. The cuttings of 
Orange trees and others which strike with difficulty if inserted 
in the middle of the earth of a pot, do so readily if placed in 
contact with its side. The same effect is produced by the end of 
the cutting touching an underdrainage of gravel or broken pots. 
Why is this ? and our observations justify us in concluding that 
it is because in these situations—the side and the open drainage 
of the pot—the atmospheric air gains a salutary access. A light 
porous soil, or even sand, which admits air the most readily, is 
the best for cuttings ; and so is a shallow pan rather than a 
flower-pot, and apparently for the same reason. We have no 
doubt that numerous perforations in the bottom of the cutting- 
pan would be found advantageous for cuttings which root 
shyly.—J. {To be continued.) 
FIXING AMMONIA IFj AND DEODORISING 
HOUSE SEWAGE. 
1 have a well in my garden into which the drainage of the 
house runs. In using it the smell is very strong and disagreeable. 
Will you inform me of an easy and cheap way of fixing the 
ammonia P and at the same time will you say if fixing the ammonia 
in any way destroys the manuring power of the drainage ? I have 
a very large tub close to the well into which I could pump it and 
deodorise it.—S. G. 
[There cannot- be much water mixed with your house sewage, 
or it would not smell bo offensively. We have the overflow ol 
our rain-water well communicating with the sewage well, and its 
smell is but trifling. It is absolutely necessary to have the 
sewage diluted before applying to some plants. To Asparagus- 
beds, Rhubarb, vacant ground about to bo dug, &c., it may be 
applied undiluted. The best fixer of the ammonia is sulphuric 
acid (oil of vitriol), and the next best sulphate of iron (green 
vitriol). About two pounds of the acid, or five pounds of the 
sulphate to every twenty gallons of undiluted sewage would 
suffice. Bleaching powder (chloride of lime) would also fix the 
ammonia and deodorise effectually. About three pounds to 
twenty gallons would be enough. However, we never fix the 
ammonia (although it does not diminish the fertilising power of 
the sewage) nor adopt any application but water to deodorise. 
In five minutes after the sewage has been applied the earth has 
entirely deodorised it-,] 
VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OE NEW ZEALAND. 
Indescribable is the charm of New Zealand forests for the 
lovers of Nature. There generations of noble trees are seen 
decaying, and fresh generations rising up around the moss-covcred 
trunks of fallen patriarchs. The profound silence which reigns 
in these regions produces a pleasing gloom on the mind, and the 
scene displays better than the most classic aiclntecture the gran¬ 
deur of repose. No sound is heard save the falling of trees, or 
the parrots’ shrill screech, as birds which enliven the outskirts of 
forests are mute in their interior. Around the graves of past 
generations of trees the air is hushed into stillness, while the tops 
of the living generation are agitated with gales and breezes. At 
Christmas the Pohutukaua {Metrosideros) is covered with scarlet 
flowers, and is then the most gaudy of forest trees ; and the Rirnu 
{Dacridiiim cupressinum) possesses a melancholy beauty and an 
indescribable grandeur. Few of the Fines recall to the settler s 
eyes the same trees in England, and singular to relate, unlike 
their congeners, the majority of them grow intermixed with othei 
trees. The celebrated and beautiful Kauri {Bammara australis) 
is the only Pine bearing a cone, and the male and female corns 
are found on the same tree. 
