March 12, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
441 
HIGGINSIA ROEZLII. 
The rage for Crotons and Dracaenas of late years has 
been the means of many valuable plants being neglected 
or entirely eradicated from our houses to make room for 
the endless variety in these two classes that have been 
olfered to the public. If we follow the fashion much 
longer our houses will soon be crowded with these sub¬ 
jects, and present a sameness which, instead of proving 
interesting and attractive, will become the reverse. I 
am not writing to discourage cultivators in their efforts 
to improve these two ornamental classes of plants ; on 
the contrary, if your houses are to be a source of 
attraction and beauty, we must have a select variety of 
subjects in order to render them so. 
Very few, if any, dwarf-growing stove plants are 
more worthy of cultivation than the subject of these 
notes. When well grown the leaves will attain from 
10 ins. to 1 ft. in length, and 4 ins. or 5 ins. in their 
widest part. This plant is naturally of dwarf habit, 
and beautiful specimens in 5-in. and 6-in. pots will not 
attain more than the height of the pots in which they 
are grown. Well-furnished plants, with their dark dis¬ 
tinct foliage, are-most con¬ 
spicuous on the side stages, 
and a few plants dotted at 
equal distances along the 
front at once arrest atten¬ 
tion. 
Not only is this plant use¬ 
ful for the embellishment of 
the stove, but for the dinner- 
table. Small plants, in 2-in. 
pots, for turning out and 
placing in small glass vases, 
that are now frequently 
used in low arrangements, 
with a little Lycopodium on 
the surface, are very striking 
by lamp-light and show off 
well on the white table¬ 
cloth. A row of these 
plants on either side of the 
table, or arranged alter¬ 
nately with small Ferns, 
such as Adiantum cuneatum, 
are all that could be desired 
for such a purpose. 
This Higginsia is easily 
propagated by means of cut¬ 
tings at almost any season 
of the year. They should 
be inserted singly in small 
pots, and are not long before 
they are rooted in the close 
propagating frame. Cut¬ 
tings from time to time can 
be taken from near the base 
of the plants, where they are 
freely produced on those that 
have attained some strength. 
A dozen strong plants in 
6-in. pots, used for furnish¬ 
ing the stove would, at 
his season of the year, yield at least double that 
number of cuttings without injuring the appearance of 
the plants. Cuttings from the base are the most 
suitable for small pots, for turning out and placing in 
glass vases for table work. 
The heads of large plants can be taken off and rooted 
at any time, and then grown on into 5-in, or 6-in. 
pots. To have plants in really good condition for 
the stove during the six winter months, the heads may 
be re-rooted any time during May and June. After the 
heads have been removed, a large stock of young plants 
can be raised from buds that push freely from the base, 
so that there is no difficulty in maintaining a good 
stock of plants of a suitable size for a variety of 
purposes. 
While growing, this Higginsia requires shading from 
the sun, and delights in heat and moisture. They 
should never be allowed to suffer from an insufficient 
supply of water at their roots, or else their fine 
dark foliage turns brown at the edge. The syringe 
may also be freely used, for we have never observed 
any injury to the leaves from water falling upon 
them. The only insect we have ever noticed on our 
plants is a small black fly, which is easily destroyed 
by slight occasional fumigations ot Tobacco smoke.— 
Saxon. 
THE ART OF PROPAGATING.— II. 
Cuttings of Hard-wooded Plants. —In the fol¬ 
lowing remarks we will take the Heath as a fair sample 
of what hard-wooded cuttings generally are, and if I 
give you a fair outline of how to successfully root 
Heaths, the same rule will apply to the general run of 
this class of plants. They are of a cooler nature than 
the subjects treated of in the preceding remarks, and 
require a cooler temperature in which to root, and, 
consequently, the cool propagating house will be their 
place. The pots in the case of these plants will have 
to be of a larger size than what are usually used for 
soft-wooded plants, and the size I prefer is a 6 in. pot 
that will take a 5 in. bell-glass easily within its rim, 
and thus leave sufficient space from the edge of the 
glass to the edge of the pot to admit of water being 
given without taking off the glass if this is at any time 
necessary. These pots I have always found best drained 
in the following manner :—Insert a 60-sized pot upside 
down in the larger pots. This covers the hole in the 
bottom of the larger pot ; place around this crocks of a 
moderate size till they reach the inverted bottom of the 
Varieties of Primula veris and vulgaris. 
60 pots ; then again over these place a layer of small 
crocks, and fill up to within 2 ins. of the top of the 
larger pot with very fine crocks. This completes the 
drainage so far as the crocks are concerned. 
The Proper Compost. 
The soil for this kind of cutting must be composed 
of the best peat, broken up finely with the hands, and 
then passed through a very fine sieve, the size I have 
generally used being about J in. mesh. It will require 
to be rubbed through the sieve with the hand, and the 
part that cannot be got through will do, after the sticks 
and bits of rubbish have been picked out, to cover the 
crocks. Add to this some fine peat, twice as much 
silver sand, and then thoroughly mix together. During 
the mixing it will be as well to sprinkle the soil with 
water, so as to make it quite damp when finished. It 
is necessary that it should be so ; for in making up the 
pots to receive the cuttings, the soil must be made very 
firm, and this cannot be accomplished unless the soil is 
sufficiently damp to make it hold together. The rough 
peat that has been left in the sieve must be placed 
over the crocks first and pressed level with the pat or 
bottom of a 4-in. pot. On the top of this place a layer 
of the finely prepared soil, and again press firm, and 
continue to add a little at a time till the pot is filled 
to within a \ in. of the top. The whole when finished 
must be very firm and level. A good watering may be 
given to the pot, and let it well run off before the sand 
is put on. The cleanest and finest of silver sand must 
be used for the top of this pot, and it should be 
thoroughly wet when put on, and made quite firm with 
the “pat,” being when finished level with the top of 
the pot. 
The pot being now ready to receive the cuttings, take 
the bell-glass and place it on the surface of the sand, 
as nearly equi-distant from the sides as possible ; press 
the glass lightly, when it will leave a circular im¬ 
pression on the sand. The cuttings must be inserted 
within the limits of this circle, and so placed that they 
will not touch the glass when the latter is placed over 
them. 
Preparing the Cuttings. 
The next thing is to prepare the cuttings. This has to 
be done with great care and judgment; the small bits of 
wood that form near the base of the plant are best when 
in a half-ripe condition. They root more readily than 
stronger pieces. These should be taken off with a sharp 
pair of small scissors, and dressed as they are taken off, 
being very particular that 
the bark does not get tom 
in any way, or the cutting 
would otherwise be useless. 
A cutting should not exceed 
1 in. in length when ready 
for insertion, and the base 
of the cutting must be cut 
clean with a sharp budding 
knife. After they have 
been so cut the sooner they 
are in the sand the better. 
The best mode of inserting 
them is the following :— 
Make a good hard dibber, 
very thin, but not quite 
pointed at the end, which 
should be cut off straight. 
This causes the cutting, 
when placed in the hole, to 
have a firm base on which 
to rest; but the hole must 
not be made deeper than 
the surface sand. It must 
be made perfectly perpen¬ 
dicular, and then the cutting 
placed in it quite straight, 
inserting the dibber again 
just on the edge of the hole 
where the cutting is ; this 
causes the sand to press 
against the cutting. Always 
keep some very dry sand by 
your side, and, taking a 
little on the end of your 
knife, place it into this 
second hole, then press it 
down with the knife 
handle; this causes the 
cutting to become firm in 
the sand. 
The best way to commence filling these pots is to 
start with one cutting in the centre of the pot, and 
then follow all round in circles till you get to the out¬ 
side. As each circle is made the placing of the dry 
sand need not be put on till the circle is complete ; 
when the potting is finished and the job has been well 
done, the cuttings will look like a miniature carpet-bed. 
If the sand in the pot was sufficiently wet, as advised 
when the cuttings were inserted, the dry sand placed 
on to fill up the holes will soon become wet, and 
cause the cutting to be firm ; so that no more water 
should be required at the time the pot is filled up. Put 
the bell-glass over tight, but do not press it on to 
disturb the sand in the pot. As the pots are filled with 
cuttings, they must be taken to the cool propagating 
house and placed closely and perfectly level on the 
stage. If they can be plunged in some cocoa-nut fibre 
it will keep them in a more equable temperature, and 
prevent the soil from drying up quickly. This benefits 
the cuttings, for the less water given to them the 
better, so long as they get what is necessary to keep 
the soil moist. 
This plunging must in no case be in bottom heat, 
but simply to keep the pots from drying up so quickly 
as they would otherwise do. The bell-glasses must be 
wiped out every morning regularly, and when the cut- 
