GARDENING WORLD. 5 6 9 
September 5, 1908. THE 
Propagating 
Those who make a point of planting out 
heir Violas in autumn with the object of 
getting an early display of bloom com- 
nence propagating in July. There is, 
lowever, another system pursued by those 
laving gardens in towns and elsewhere 
rhere the sooty atmosphere makes it con- 
enient, if not necessary, to place the 
fiolas under glass during winter, and 
ilant out in the spring. With this ob- 
ect in view, the beginning of September 
s a very good time to commence their 
>ropagation. 
Those who have only a limited con¬ 
venience for keeping them can insert them 
n boxes in the manner represented by 
he accompanying illustration. The con¬ 
venience of this arrangement lies in the 
act that the boxes can be placed under 
frame or handlight until the cuttings 
ommence to root. They can then be 
roved outside if the frame is required for 
mother batch of cuttings of Violas or 
■ther subjects, such as Pelargoniums, 
J entstemons, Antirrhinums, Phloxes and 
o forth. 
Those who require a large number of 
'iolas and can utilise a whole frame for 
hem need not trouble with boxes. The 
implest plan is to spread about 4 in. of 
jight soil in the bottom of the frame, 
rsing plenty of sand and leaf mould. 
This is pressed firm, and the cuttings 
rhen made, can then be dibbled in in 
ows across or lengthways' of the frame. 
Vhen the latter is thus wholly occupied 
fith one batch of cuttings, ventilation 
an be given whenever this becomes neces- 
ary.. The hardier these Violas are kept 
hrough the winter the better. Indeed, 
ifter they are completely rooted the lights 
hould be taken off altogether during the 
>revalence of mild weather. The only 
eason for putting on the frames is dur- 
Violas. 
ing the prevalence of heavy rains or severe 
frost. 
In taking off cuttings of Violas very 
little preparation is necessary if care is 
taken to pull up the shoots that arise from 
the base with the fingers. There is an 
art, however, even in doing this. If the 
cuttings are pulled in a perpendicular 
direction the chances are that the core of 
the shoot is pulled out, leaving only the 
bark or skin at the point where the roots 
should be produced. By a little practice, 
however, these shoots may be pulled side¬ 
ways in such a fashion as to pull out a 
good length of white stem, with the 
sucker, or even a bunch of young roots. 
In that case the success of the cuttings is 
practically assured when they have al¬ 
ready commenced to root. Both of these 
types may be seen by reference to the 
illustration. All that remains is to pull 
off the lower leaf or two and insert them. 
It sometimes happens with scarce varie¬ 
ties that the owner will simply take off 
the tips of shoots and use them as cut¬ 
tings. If these shoots are strong, the 
chances are that the cuttings will be hol¬ 
low and far less likely to succeed. It de¬ 
pends very largely upon the variety. 
Some of the more wiry kinds may be pro¬ 
pagated in this way, but the thick 
stemmed ones do not make good cuttings 
at all, and usually damp off. If the 
suckers are pulled up from the base, how¬ 
ever, every one of them will root if it 
has not been damaged. 
Cuttings inserted in September will be 
rooted before the advance of winter, but 
it is not advisable to plant them outside 
before spring. In the south, March is the 
best month to plant out cuttings which 
have been propagated at this time. This 
enables the young plants to get well es¬ 
tablished before the advance of hot 
weather. Sometimes the planting is un¬ 
avoidably delayed owing to the beds being 
occupied with spring bedding. In that 
case it is we 1 1 to mulch the beds with 
well decayed minure or cocoanut fibre at 
the very commencement of hot weather. 
- +++ - 
Ideal Gardens at Olympia. 
At the Ideal Home Exhibition to beheld 
at Olympia, London, from October gth to 
24th, one of the most prominent features 
will consist of practical illustrations of 
cottage gardening. The large annexes, 
which cover over an acre of ground, are to 
be converted into “A Corner of England.” 
There will be a real model cottage stand¬ 
ing in a series of gardens laid out by a 
landscape gardener. One of the gardens 
will be on the French plan, and the whole 
system of growing vegetables under bells 
and frames will be shown. Skilled opera¬ 
tors ^ill give practical demonstrations of 
the treatment of the soil and various other 
processes. There will be over twenty 
operators from the Studley Horticultural 
College, who will demonstrate every 
phase of garden work. Cottage gardening 
on so complete a plan has never before 
been exhibited in this country. 
-- 
Manuring, 
Earthing Up, 
etc. 
At this time Celery plants need a lot of 
attention, if we are to have large healthy 
sticks. The trenches must be kept clear 
of weeds, and the hoe must be freely used 
to loosen the surface soil and to aerate it. 
Twice or three times a week, according to 
the weather, they should have a thorough 
soaking with clear wjjter; afterwards 
copious supplies of liqmd manure can be 
given, taking care not to touch the foliage 
with it, or we shall have that dreaded in 
sect, celery leaf miner, to deal with. If, 
however, the insect is there to begin with, 
all the worst affected leaves must be pick¬ 
ed off and burned, the remaining plants 
being washed with soft soap and tepid 
water, or two or three applications of soap 
suds will remove them, the plants after¬ 
wards being washed down with clearwater. 
After this they will become quite healthy 
and clean, and seldom give any further 
trouble. 
Earthing up should be done with care, 
all the stems being drawn close together, 
and the soil worked in between the plants, 
never allowing any soil to fall into the 
heart of the plant, as this will cause decay 
and be plainly seen when the plants are 
taken up. Many amateurs use brown 
paper for blanching purposes ; certainly 
this method is the best for exhibition, as 
it leaves them very clean and white; but 
on the other hand, soil is the best for table 
use, as soil blanching makes the sticks 
very tender, not stringy', as some are apt 
to be ; and finally soil 'blanching imparts 
a sweet nutty flavour, which other methods 
cannot give. 
Many exhibitors grow their Celery in 
frames, and blanch with brown paper, 
simply because a well blanched Celery 
carries more points with the judges than 
those of superior quality 7 for table use. 
Joseph Floyd. 
