6 
over the face of the sand: In'this sand the 
plants will root freely, and if they be set 
deep ‘enough, roots will be made by the 
buried branches, and-in this way propaga- 
tion is easy. Another method of propa- 
gation is by grafting, using the D. meze- 
reum as a stock. ~The plants: unite weil 
and D. cneorum grows well on it. The 
grafting is often done in winter indoors, 
but may be done at other time, as conve- 
nient. Still another way is by cuttings, 
rooted in a greenhouse, using half-ripened 
wood for the purpose. As a pot plant, 
kept in a cold frame all winter and brought 
to heat early in spring. 
PROPAGATING MAGNOLITAS. 
In the line of magnolias there is no bet- 
ter way than layering. Budding, graft- 
ing, and other methods are employed to 
some extent, but the old way of layering 
is the most solid of all. This is the time 
to cut back almost to the ground the stocks 
desired for layering purposes. Take some 
real heavy plants and cut them back to 
but a few eyes above the ground. This 
will cause the growth of strong young 
shoots, which are.just the sort needed for 
layering. The work should be done as soon 
as the shoots are of length enough to per- 
mit of it. . If put down early they will 
be nicely rooted by fall, but should not 
be cut off from the parent plants before 
spring. Old hands at. propagating aver 
that but little is lost by allowing the layers 
to remain undisturbed for two years. In 
this way, too, the old plants are permitted 
to have a year’s rest from layering, 
strengthening them, as the cutting down 
and layering the same plants year after 
year weakens them. This will lead propa- 
gators to have two sets of plants for layer- 
ing, working one set one year, the other 
. the next, which is much the better plan. 
When propagating keep in mind the 
desirability of Magnolia Lennei. All the 
early flowering sorts, led by M. Soulan- 
geana, are good sellers, but a more than 
good one is M. Lennei, and for these rea- 
sons: It is one which bears very large, 
cup-shaped, purplish-red flowers, dif- 
fering from all others in the color and form 
of flower, when it flowers fully ten days 
later than the other early flowering ones, 
bringing up the end of the season, and 
always escaping the late frosts, which so 
often catch the very early sorts. I do not 
remember that M. Lennei was ever caught 
by frost, though the earlier oaes often aro. 
TRUMPET VINES AS SHRUBS. 
As a vine the trumpet vine is well 
known, and when in the height of its 
flowering, in late summer, a well-developed 
specimen of it is a glorious Sight. For the 
covering of old trees, rough walls, and) like 
objects, it is most useful. For the walls of 
dwellings it is not so well fitted, being of a, 
too sturdy nature to harmonise well with 
surroundings. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER, 
The use of this vine to form a shrub is 
not often made; at least, not as often as 
it should be. When seen in such a shape 
it is interesting and beautiful. The large 
trumpet-shaped flowers are in display for 
many weeks. The flowers are in clusters, 
and one of a bunch succeeds another; and 
as every vigorous shoot will have a bunch 
of flowers at its end, the display is very 
fine. — x 
The commonest trumpet vine is Bignonia 
radicans. This is our wild one, native of 
the Middle States, and the one usually seen 
in collections. But there are varieties of 
it, some with flowers darker red than the 
type; and, recently, an entirely different 
one—a yellow-flowered variety—has ap- 
peared in cultivation. 
One of the showiest of all these bignonias 
is the Chinese species, B. grandiflora. This 
has flowers more yellow than our native 
one, B. radicans; the flower tube is 
shorter, while the mouth of the flower ex- 
pands more than the other. It seems to 
have found its way to Germantown very 
many years ago, judging by the very large 
vines of it to be seen here and there on 
walls. 
The Southern one, B. capreolata, is of an 
evergreen character and does not bear close 
resemblance to the others. It is, in fact, 
classed separately by botanists. They make 
it a true bignonia ; the others, our trumpet 
vines, are called tecoma. B. capreolata 
lives out in Germantown. Some years ago 
“Gardening” had an illustration of one in 
full flower, covering to the eaves the wall 
of a house there. The color of the flowers 
is a light orange. 
The way to make shrubs of bignonias is 
to stake a vine, using a stout stake and see- 
ing that it is maintained for some years, 
until the vine can support itself, when the 
“shrub” is formed. : 
Trumpet vines are increased from root 
cuttings and by grafting on pieces of root, 
Nurserymen do not like grafted plants for 
their own use, as it renders the mistake 
easy of propagating from roots which may 
not be those of the one it was thought to 
be. For setting out on private grounds 
it makes no difference.—Josupu MEEHAN. 
SHRUBS. 
Some of the finer varieties of flowering 
shrubs are, by grafting, worked on to the 
common sorts, but all lilacs and prunus, 
including the best varieties, as also the two 
ov three forms of Deutzia gracilis, grow wil- 
lingly and rapidly from cuttings. They are 
best propagated from semi-ripened wood 
in early fall, so that in. the following spring 
nice young plants are available for plant- 
ing outin the field. Here they will rapid- 
ly grow into size, if properly attended to 
as regards pruning, hoeing, watering, and 
sprinkling in hot, dry, and windy weather. 
Pruning, however, is the most important 
part. The first and occasionally also the 
second year a judicious stopping, more or 
less severe, all according to variety, is 
July. 1, 1905 
necessary of shoots too forward and growth 
too rank. But at all times during the 
period of their nursery culture must weak, 
distorted, or straggling growth and super- 
fluous shoots be cut clean away or broken 
off smoothly. This latter, if wanted, may 
be used for propagating. To obtain a firm 
and small-sized! ball of rocts, desirable when 
putting up, root-pruning is resorted to. In 
early fall a sharp spade is used to cut away 
the straggling roots all around the plants 
within reasonable distance from their base. 
This should be done every fall, every suc- 
ceeding year cutting a circle a trifle farther 
away from the stem than the preceding 
season, and in their last year it is done a 
few weeks before they are dug up. The 
majority of those plants, recommended as 
most tractable under this culture, will, if 
carefully attended to, at the end of the 
third and many at the second year, be nice, 
well-formed bushes from 14 to 3 ft. high 
with from 12 to 20 strong shoots, profusely 
set with bloom buds. Only specimens of 
this description should be selected for fore- 
ing in pots. In April they are dug up, 
those of the desirable size and shape potted 
up at once, and all plunged in the frameg 
ready for them. These frames must be so 
constructed that in times of heavy rains 
raised sashes will keep the plants dry. A 
moderately moist soil or other material, in 
which the plants are plunged, will afford 
sufficient protection against a thorough 
drying out of the roots, which should be 
avoided at a time when, the wood is ripen- 
ing. Thoroughly ripened) wood assures 
success in forcing hardy shrubs. <A’ few 
snappy frosts will help to ripen.it, but when 
winter sets in for good, the frames should 
be covered and protected against a solid 
freezing up, which would render the re- 
moving of the plants to the greenhouse 
later on inconvenient and difficult, and 
would also cause a cracking and loss in 
pots. 
A. better and more satisfactory pot plant 
is invariably obtained if plants suitable for 
this purpose are potted either in the fall oy 
spring previous to time of forcing. This 
gives them an entire season, in the open. to 
become thoroughly established in the pots, 
The adoption of this plan becomes an ab- 
solute necessity if the plants are wanted 
for extra early forcing. If they are induced 
by a short period of greenhouse culture in 
early spring, to make and complete their 
season’s growth long before those outdoors 
would, fine material is secured for very 
early forcing the coming winter or fall, 
The soil in the field should be good, well 
enriched, and freely worked, while that for 
the benches and pots need not be of a kind 
planting is of greater importance. 
especially prepared; a firm potting and 
ETHERIZATION OF PLANTS. 
Dormant plants, otherwise fully prepar- 
ed and ready to be forced into bloom, if 
subjected to the action of ether directly 
before being placed into the forcing house, 
will expand their flowers sooner and with 
