190 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
are others: insects of all denominations will question 
ownership of all that is rare in the garden; the finest 
Rose will be sought by the largest worm and destroyed, 
if the latter is not: weeding and cleaning must not be 
neglected: planting, sowing and pruning arc always in 
order. In all vacant places sow Mignonette and Candy 
Tuft, so useful in the arrangements of loose flowers, 
an 1 far better tenants than weeds, which are sure to 
grow in every idle spot. The secret of continuous gath¬ 
ering, is continuous planting. You cannot take out of 
the garden at all times unless you put in at all times. 
“As a man soweth. so shall he also reap.” But for an 
attractive, enjoyable garden he must sow many other 
things besides seeds. Industry, skill, patience, taste and 
love must be sown liberally: it is these elements that 
yield the bountiful harvest. The training of plants is au 
imporhmt, a delightful task, and one that is most sadly 
neglected. In this work, to be successful, you must be¬ 
gin early, and assist the plant as little as possible, con¬ 
sistent with the primary object of all artificial training 
—that of affording it sufficient support. Do not thwart 
Mature, rather assist her. Never prop up a plant that 
has sufficient strength to stand alone. Avoid the great 
mistake of putting off until the vines are too strong to 
handle without breaking. When a vine reaches out for 
support, furnish it; if too many start, nip them in the 
bud, and not leave them until the whole plant is injured 
br the shock of a broken limb. Throw all the strength 
of the plant into a few branches, vines or stems, all of 
which will be strong, healthy and prolific. Feeding of 
plants is a necessity, and for which plenty and season¬ 
able must be the rule: a liberal supply of food, and water 
when it is needed again, is just as essential to the com¬ 
fort and well-being of the plant as it is for ourselves. 
In fact, the application of this simple principle of treat¬ 
ing the plants as we do ourselves in all such matters 
would result in perfect success. It is true plants feed 
upon entirely different substances, but the laws that 
govern supply and demand of or for food in both king¬ 
doms are alike. Consumption governs the ratio of re¬ 
plenishment. Rapid growth, strong exercise, force ex¬ 
pended in work or produce, whether that produce bo 
fruits or flowers, or work of the hand or brain, all waste 
strength or expend substance, and call for compensation 
in the form of food. Plants draw their supplies from 
three sources—the earth, the air, and the water. We 
cannot well regulate the supply of the first of these—air 
—but we can give or withhold water, and see that their 
great storehouse—the earth—is filled with suitable food. 
Periods of feasting or famine arc just as injurious to the 
vegetable as to the animal kingdom. The plants revenge 
a want of food or a scarcity of water by a reduction in 
quantity and quality. Plants should be fed regularly 
and bountifully, then the harvest will be long, and the 
yield abundant. 
Iu cutting flowers, do so at the right time, and in a 
neat and cleanly manner. Do not tear a flower from 
the branch, as you would pull a weed up by the roots, 
but cut the stem or branch so gently that the most sen¬ 
sitive plant in the world will scarcely feel the shock. 
THE ART OF PROPAGATION. 
n. 
By Ccttlxgs. 
As now understood, this is a simple matter. Formerly 
no operation in horticulture was more befogged by ig¬ 
norant pretenders, who, in writing or speaking on the 
subject, so warped the operation with troublesome con¬ 
ditions as to discourage not only amateurs in horticul¬ 
ture, but inexperienced professional gardeners as well. 
One of the first necessary conditions in the propaga¬ 
tion of plants by cutting is, that the plant from which 
the cutting or slip is taken must be in vigorous health. 
If weak or tainted by disease, failure is almost certain to 
result. If, for example, we wish to root cuttings of 
green-house or bedding plants, such as Bouvardias, 
Chrysanthemums, Fucliias, Geraniums, Heliotropes, Sal¬ 
vias, Verbenas, etc., one of the best guides to the proper 
conditions is when the cutting breaks or snaps clean off, 
instead of bending or kneeing; if it snaps off so as to 
break, then it is in the condition to root freely; if it 
bends, it is too old, and though it will root, it will root 
much slower and make a weaker plant than the slip that 
snaps off on being bent. With exceptions so few, and 
those of so little importance, that it is hardly worth 
while to allude to them, cuttings of all kinds root freely 
from slips taken from the young wood, that is, the suc¬ 
culent growth, before it gets hardened, and when in the 
condition indicated by the “snapping test,” as it is 
called. A very general idea is current, that cuttings 
must be cut at or below an eye or joint. The practice of 
this system leads undoubtedly to many cases of failure; 
not that the cutting at or below a joint either hinders or 
assists the formation of roots, but from the fact that, 
when a slip is cut at a joint, the shoot often has become 
too hard at that pbint, while half an inch higher up or 
above the joint, the proper condition will be found. We 
know that it will root even when in the too hard condi¬ 
tion, but the roots emitted will be hard and slender, and, 
as a consequence, will not be likely to make a plant of 
the same vigor as that made from the cutting in the 
proper state; besides, as the hard cutting takes double 
the time to root, its chances of damping off from unfa¬ 
vorable atmospheric conditions are thus increased. With 
these instructions for the proper state of the cutting, we 
now proceed to describe the medium where it is to be 
placed, and the conditions of temperature, moisture, etc. 
If these are strictly followed, failure is an impossibility; 
for the laws governing the rooting of a slip are as cer¬ 
tain as those governing the germination of a seed. In 
our own practice, when these conditions are strictly 
followed, failure is unknown. 
The most proper condition of temperature to root cut¬ 
tings of the great majority of green-house and bedding 
plants is 65 degrees of bottom heat, indicated by a ther¬ 
mometer plunged in the sand of the bench, and an 
atmospheric temperature of 10 degrees less. A range 
of 10 degrees may be allowed, that is, 0 degreesj lower 
