ROCK GARDENS

Rock, Marsh, Shrubs in the Garden
Plants 8

If it is possible to take a "heel" or small wedge-shaped portion of the old wood and bark with it, so much the better. It is then assured that the cutting has been taken where the pith is smallest and there is the greatest width of wood on which the callus will form. If too much heel is taken, it will tend to decay, so the wood must be cut back as near to the joint as possible. The joint need not necessarily be the junction of two stems; it may equally well be the them or doubling them up, and care must be taken not to leave an air-pocket below the roots or they will soon be parched. If, as in the case of very tiny plants, the seedlings are to be thinned and not transplanted, the fork is not used to raise them, but the unwanted seedlings are pulled up between the finger and thumb, a finger of the other hand being pressed upon the soil to keep the roots of the other seedlings in place. The soil should be firmly pressed back around those seedlings left in the seed-bed or they will be likely to die off. If transplanting is done in the evening, the seedlings will have the cool night in which to recover, and will not be so liable to be scorched as when transplanted in the heat of the day. The reserve garden into which the seeds are transplanted must possess a sunny aspect, should have been well dug, and the soil, if poor, will be all the better for having had good, well-rotted manure mixed with the top three inches of its surface, which, in order to ward off slugs, must be dressed with just sufficient soot to blacken the surface of the soil. A further dressing of vegetable ashes will help to lighten the soil and furnish nourishment for the seedlings. In warm, dry weather the reserve bed should be well watered the day before it is to receive the seedlings, but it must not be made too wet, as the seedlings will not grow if it is made to "cake." The bed should be again watered after the transplanting has been done. If transplanting can be carried out in showery weather, so much the better. Care of the Seedlings. In dry weather the seedlings should be watered (but not when the hot sun is on them) and the bed must be well hoed. Tepid water is far more congenial to them than cold water from the tap or a deep tank, and provided the soil is fairly rich, the seedlings should receive no manure until they approach maturity. A dressing of soot water is a sufficient stimulant; it is also a protection from slugs, and lessens the risk of "damping-off." There are also a number of effective insecticides on the market today against slugs. Wintering the Seedlings. In warm and sheltered districts the young plants may be left in the open all winter, but in colder districts it is safer to winter them in a frame, where they should be placed in October. Light, sandy loam and a southerly aspect best suit most seedlings. As much air as possible should be given, but care must be taken to exclude frost and damp; very little watering should be necessary.

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