178 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
season. The rest are Dorothy Eekiord, King Edward VII., 
Lord Rosebery, Mrs. Walter Wright, Grade Greenwood, Agnes 
Johnston, the Hon. Mrs. Kenyon, Miss Willmott, George 
Gordon, Cbocinea, Countess* of Lathom, Lady Grizel Hamilton; 
Duchess of Westminster, Navy Blue, Duchess* of Sutherland, 
Black Knight, Duke of Westminster, Triumph, Prince Edward 
of York, America, and Lady Skelmersdale. 
Other varieties that I cannot do without when, putting up 
a large collection this year are Lady Nina Balfour, Calypso*, 
Countess Cadogan, Lady Ormsby Gore, Lord Kenyon, Dainty, 
Janet Scott, Countess of Shrewsbury, Salopian, Mrs*. Dugdale, 
Senator, Mrs. J. Chamberlain, Gorgeous, Queen Victoria, 
Lottie Eckford, and Jessie Cuthbertson. Cal. 
Rose and Clematis Gralting. 
This operation is probably of some use or interest to* the 
majority of gardeners, though sometimes, considered difficult'; 
yet if the necessary care and trouble is taken it can be per¬ 
formed with a very fair chance of success by those possessing a 
small heated greenhouse. 
For Roses the seedling Brier forms* the best stock, selecting 
those of about the thickness of a lead pencil, having a. clean, 
straight part towards the* top and plenty of good fibrous* roots. 
By potting up in the autumn they get nicely rooted by the* 
time they are wanted for grafting, but if not in pots they can 
now be trimmed and laid in a box of soil and placed in. the 
house to* get slightly in advance *o*f the scions*, and then grafted 
in the hand are more easy to manipulate. The grafts should 
be procured from well-ripened dormant shoots, having two 
buds or a joint each. The soft, pithy shoots should be dis¬ 
carded, and indoor is preferable to* outdoor wood. 
Whip grafting is the best method of procedure, made by cut¬ 
ting the stock right across* in a slanting, direction. The* scion 
or graft is then operated on in a similar manner, so as to fit 
the cut of the stock. The two are* then bound firmly together 
with raphia. or other material.- They can then be potted into* 
3-in. pots, leaving the point of union just* above* the soil. A 
very sharp knife is necessary in order to make clean cuts*; 
these are best made* at one* cut, without having to pare level 
afterwards, and in fitting them together the* inner bark of 
stock and scion should be placed in close contact, for it is 
this layer of tissue which effects the vital union. In some 
cases* the stocks are thicker than the* grafts; these should tfiem 
be* placed to one side of the cut, or, if the stocks* are much 
thicker, they can be* cut off square* across the top, and then 
a long triangular notch taken: out of one side, the graft being 
prepared wedge-shaped to fit*. The pots* can then *be placed 
in the propagating frame*, having bottom heat. If this is 
fairly brisk no wax or clay will be needed ; if not, waxing over 
so as to* exclude the air and wet will be a* safeguard. The* 
grafts* soon callus and start into growth if a union takes* place*, 
when they should be given more air, and gradually inured to 
ordinary greenhouse conditions. A temporary propagating 
frame can be made by placing a box on the pipes with a layer 
of cocoa-nut fibre* at the bottom and pane® of glass* over the* top 
to keep air-tight. The* fibre* should be kept continually moist, 
and as the moisture condenses on the glass this* ought to be 
wiped dry every morning to ensure success. 
In Clematis grafting it is* necessary to have* some stock 
plants to* place in a gentle* heat, and then pruning these back 
in order to secure strong breaks* o*r growths. When these are 
about 2 ft. o*r more* in length the* grafting may begin. The* 
stocks used are seedlings of 'Clematis* vitalba, commonly termed 
Traveller’s* Joy. The operation is* a delicate* one*, the* growths 
being soft. It can be done, as with Roses*, by whip grafting', or 
the better way is to* make two* grafts* out' of one joint, the buds 
in the Clematis* being opposite*. The joint can be* cut down 
the centre, and each eye* used as* a graft. The head of the* stock 
is taken off, and a thin paring sliced off the root about an inch 
in length, the eye* being then bound on to this* by a. thin shred 
of raphia'. When the base* of the graft or eye is* left fairly 
strong and not bound up tightly, a. callus usually forms*, from 
which roots are emitted, and so hy this means* we often get the 
plant on its own roots in time. When grafted they can be 
potted up in thimbles or 2|-in. pots, using a light sandy soil, 
and placed in the propagating frame*, and kept close until thev 
start into* growth. ' Loughbcriax. 
Fhyllocactus. 
Among toe many fine races of plants that found special 
favour with our ancestors are those which have for some un¬ 
known reason or other been allowed to* fall into somewhat 
more o*r less; neglect, yet there is not one*, perhaps, which is 
more worthy of revival than the genus noted above, viz., Phyl- 
locactuisi There* arei in all about thirteen known species, which 
are native® o*f tropical America, and in these the stems are) 
compressed laterally, which gives* to the casual observer an 
idea, that the stems* have beien hammered out, or sometimes 
the* stems are* thre*e*-angled, *as in P. auguliger. The margins* 
of the stems are usually deeply notched, which is really the 
divisions* between o*n.e leaf and another. The flat, fleshy 
portions* o*f the*sa plant® are really modified stems, wliich, as 
the plants increase in* age*, will be found to* gradually die or 
wither away, thus leaving only the central or woody portion 
to* assume the cylindrical stem, which can be seen in all 
large specimen Phyllocacti. The large showy flowers are borne 
from these notches* in the stems already referred to*, just as* in 
plants* the flowers of which are* borne* from the axils* *o*f the 
leaves*. 
In their native* habitat these subjects* are found growing 
on the trunks of large* forest* trees*, in, company with Orchids, 
etc. A sight of them when in flower to* those* whose privilege 
it* is* to* behold must be one* of the* most* gorgeous imaginable. 
It. will thus go* without fear o*f contradiction that. Phyllocacti 
in their native home* are epiphytes*, but with us, under cul¬ 
tivation, they thrive best in po*ts or any other similar recep¬ 
tacle, as occasion requires*. 
The Phyllocactuse® are amongst the easiest of all plants to 
cultivate. The* majority of those we now possess are of recent 
introduction, or are the result of careful cultivation and 
hybridising. The growing season* isi directly after the plants 
have* finished flowering, which is usually from the end of April 
onward, and it is at this season that tho*se plants* which require 
to* be repotted should receive attention. It. should, however, 
be borne, in mind that these plant® do not require large* shifts, 
and those which appear in* good health and will go* over another 
season will only want the drainage* looked at, and the soil 
at the top of the* pot. scraped off and fresh* added. It* will be 
found when the plants* are cramped a little at the roots* that 
they flower much morel freely. > A good compost for potting is 
a. mixture of good fibrous roam, peat, and leaf soil, with enough 
sand to* make* the whole porous*. 
After the* plants* have been overhauled, repotted,'etc., they 
should be placed in a -sunny position, shaded, however, for the 
first few days* in a close house*, if possible, kept freely watered, 
and during bright weather they may with advantage be 
sprayed overhead. A temperature of about GO deg. F. should 
be afforded them until growth is* finished, after which the 
growths* or stems should be* gradually ripened by admitting 
more* air and exposing to all sunlight possible. In winter 
they should be kept in* a, house where the temperature does 
not fall below 50deg. F., and given just sufficient moisture at 
the root to* prevent* shrivelling. 
Propagation is. usually effected hy cutting® made from the 
branches*, which, after making, -should be left- exposed to the 
air for two or three days*, then inserted singly in thumb pots 
filled with sandy soil, after which place the pots* containing! 
the cuttings* on a. dry, sunny shelf near the glass, and spray 
overhead daily until rooted. Seed should be -sown as -soon 
as ripe* and placed in a warm propagating frame* until germi¬ 
nated, after which they will require pricking and potting off as 
oc c asi on re*q uire s*. 
For a list of the- best species and hybrids I will refer 1 my 
readers* to seine first-class nurserymen’s* catalogues. 
A. H. 
