TIIE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
233 
rooted the sand must be Icept continually saturated, and 
kept in the condition of mud; if once allowed to dry up, 
exposed to the sun as they are, the cuttings will quickly 
wilt, and the whole operation will be defeated. The 
rules previously laid down for the proper condition of 
the cuttings are the same in this case, and those for the 
temperature nearly so; although, by the saucer system, 
a higher temperature can be maintained without injury, 
as the cuttings are in reality placed in water, and will 
not droop at the same temperature as if the sand was 
kept in the regular condition of moisture maintained in 
the propagating bench. Still, the detached slip, until 
rooted, will not endure a continuation of excessive heat, 
60 that we advise, as we do in the regular method of 
propagating, that the attempt should not be made to 
root cuttings in this way, in this latitude, in the months 
of June, July, or August, unless with plants of a tropi¬ 
cal nature. When the cuttings are rooted, they should 
be potted in small pots, and treated carefully by shad¬ 
ing and watering for a few days, as previously 
directed.” 
PROPAGATION BY LAYERING IN THE AIR. 
About twenty years ago we published a method of 
propagating Geraniums, that we believed originated 
with us, and which we called, for want of a better 
term, “ Layering in the Air.” It consists in tonguing 
the shoot to be used as a cutting half through with 
a knife, as in the ordinary layering: the shoot so 
treated formed granulations, or “callus,” on the cut 
surface, and was in a condition to form roots im¬ 
mediately on being detached and put into the earth. 
A year or two ago we again bethought ourselves 
of our long-forgotten plan of “layering in the air,” 
but this time we improved upon the former way of 
doing it. Instead of tonguing the shoot to be used for a 
cutting, as before, it was merely snapped short off at a 
point where the condition of the shoot or slip would 
make it hang on to the plant by the merest shred of 
bark. Slight as this strip of bark is, it is sufficient to 
sustain the cutting, without any material injury from 
wilting, until it forms the “callus,” or granulated con¬ 
dition, which precedes the formation of roots. The cut¬ 
ting, or slip, may be detached in from ten to twelve 
days after it has been broken in the manner described, 
and then potted in two or three-inch pots. If watered 
and shaded rather less than required by ordinary cut¬ 
tings, it will form roots in ten or twelve days more, and 
not more than two per cent will fail. Plants of the Tri¬ 
color Geraniums, which all know are difficult to root 
under the ordinary modes of propagation, particularly 
in hot weather, do excellently by this plan. 
The advantage of this method is not only that the 
slips root with far greater facility, but the injury to the 
stock or mother-plants is far less than if the slips had 
been cut clean off instead of being only partly detached. 
Many other plants can be thus propagated with safety, 
notably Begonias, Petunias, Poinsettias, and such plants, 
the cuttings of which have a tendency to damp in hot 
weather. 
HYBRID AMARYLLIS. 
Among the rare and new hybrids of Amaryllis, we find 
in the Garden (London) a notice of a new cross that is 
destined to form a distinct race of hybrid Amaryllises, a 
family of plants that bids fair to out-rival, in point of 
numbers, no less than for the remarkable beauty of 
their flowers, the Gladiolus. To B. S. Williams, Esq., 
we are indebted for the most remarkable cross yet 
noticed, which he has named Mrs. Garfield. Of this 
new hybrid the Garden says : “ Amaryllis Mrs. Garfield 
was obtained by Mr. B. S. Williams by crossing A. retic¬ 
ulata and a variety called Defiance. The idea of effect¬ 
ing such a cross was a happy one, inasmuch as A. retic¬ 
ulata is very distinct from any other type species both 
in coloring and in the season of flowering; moreover, it 
is an evergreen, while the others are all deciduous. 
The two great points gained by this cross are delicate 
coloring and reticulation, as in A. reticulata, and the, 
distinct flowering season, which is invariably the au¬ 
tumn; whereas the majority of the other race flower in 
spring. It is an important step towards the goal which 
the hybridist has in view, viz.: to obtain a race of hybrid 
Amaryllises that will yield flowers the whole year 
round. We only want some new sorts to flower from, 
say, about May to the end of August, then the cycle will 
be complete for the .hybrids of A. reticulata usually be¬ 
gin to bloom in September, and continue on till Janu¬ 
ary, when the progeny of A. aidica and others come in 
by way of succession. In all probability some early 
flowering Mrs. Garflelds will soon be obtained to fill up 
the interval, and the more the better. If the delicate 
coloring of this variety could be infused into some of the 
large spring-flowering kinds it would be a great gain- 
Those who know the flowers of the typical A. reticulata 
will at once see how much superior this hybrid is to it in 
point of size and form, and, moreover, it is a wonder¬ 
fully free flowerer, whereas A. reticulata is a notori¬ 
ously shy bloomer. It was figured so long ago as 1803 
in the Botanical Magazine, wherein it is stated the plant 
is a native of the Brazils, and flowers in April. It was 
introduced in 1877. In Mrs. Garfield, one of the chief 
characters of A. reticulata —viz.: the broad white band 
running down the middle of each leaf—is distinctly 
shown, and the beautiful veins of the flower are very 
conspicuous. 
THE OTHER HYBRIDS 
of the reticulata type are very few, though this species 
was crossed in Dean Herbert’s time, but they appear to 
have become lost. A beautiful hybrid of the same 
stamp was figured in The Garden, in 1879. This was A. 
O'Brieni, raised by Mr. J. O’Brien in the Pine-apple 
Nursery, Maida Yale. This appears to have been a cross 
between A. reticulata major (striatifolia) and A. par- 
dina mbescens. It is a beautiful variety, with large, f 
well-formed flowers of a deep pink, netted with a deeper 
color, and having a broad band of white down the 
middle of each sepal. Two forms are recorded of this 
hybrid, and these were named delicata and rubescens. 
Others in Mr. Henderson’s nursery with white banded 
(thus showing the parentage of A. reticulata) are Henry- 
Little, between A. picta and A. reticulata; A. vittata 
striatifolia, between A. reticulata and A. vittata; and 
A. Pirloti, between A. gandavensis and reticulata 
