National Republican., 1873-04-03
THE FLOWER sEAsON.
Timely Hints from General BRbcock-IIo,
aud WHEN to Plant Seeds.


aud when to Plant Seeds.
The following hints, prepared by Gen. Bah
cock In regard to horticulture will he Of interest
10 many Of Onr readers:
The proper period for sowing nower seeds in
the open ground depends in a measure on the
locality, climate and character Of the season. In
the vicinity OF Washington from the 18th Of
Aprll TO the lat MAY is considered suficiently
early Tor the moft hardy ANNALS, and continued
sowing OF the more tender annuals are made
from the let to the 2Oth Of May. No advantage
Is gained by sowing earlier, as prior to this time
| no reliance can be placed upon a continuance Of
mild, open weather; many persons fail from
their hurry In committing seeds to the ground
when It Ia too cold for their termination. In
| latltudes north or south Of Washington the
| proper period will be correapondlngy later or
earlier. As general rule for different attitudes,
when the apple and pear trees are In full bloom,
/ the hardy ANNALS may be sOwn, and when the
| oak, ash and other late budding trees fully ex.
pand their leaves the tender ANIMALS may he
| safely sown.
The ground should be well prepared BY deep
digging or tTenching, thoroughly breaking and
| puyerzing the sol, and the surface should be
smoothly raked free from stones, clods and other
| inequalities before the seeds are sown.
The seeds may he sown In patches In the
| horlers whore they are to remain during their
summer growth, or bed Of light mellow earth
may be prepared In warm and sheltered sltua-
ton In the garden on which they may be sown,
to be subsequently transplanted, when they
have attained sufficient size, uhree or four
| leaves) TO the places they are permanently TO
occupy. The sOll should be dry at the time Of
| sowing When y may he necessary TO SOW
when the ground Is too moist, the surface should
be scraped on to the depth Of one OF two inches
and replaced by dry soil. on which the seed may
The depth at which secds may be sown varies
Win the.r size. Large seeds, such as the
"Maryel Of Peru" may be sown an inch deep
| nne seed, such as "Portulaca," may be sown on
the surface and gently pressed In the soil A
rule adopted by many is TO cover the seed with a
| depth Of twice Its diameter OF nne soil. II the
weatherls dry and sultry after sowing, the seed
beds may be covered with eyergreen branahes
| or boards, elevated few inches from the beds,
as protection from drying winds and the sun,
| care always being observed to remove them as
soon as the plants appear above ground.
| PROPAGATION OF PLANTS.
Many very desirable towering plants may he
| readily multiplied from slips or cuttings and the
knowledge required to succeed is so simple that
u can be easily acquired, and will well repay the
| effort. All succdlent or soft-wooded plants,
Of the young growth the proper coalition OF
sand and the subsequent waterings being the
main considerations TO observe. The proper
condition may be found by bending a
young shoot or branch; II II breaks on
READILY II Is Ia tae right condition the par
TALLY rlpened growth, tGat Will not break or snap
on bending, should be reJected, being tGq old 20
the spring. the early summer months and Inc
autumn. In midsummer the necessarily hioh
temperature Of the atmosphere precludes the
possibility OF keeping up the requisite conditions
| OF moisture to insure success.
The slips or cuttings should be from two to
four eyes or Joints In length, and may be pre-
pared In the following manner cut on the lower
leaves close to the STEM without bruising or In.
Jnring the shoot next cut on the lower portion
Of the stem Qntended TO he inserted In the sand
with snarp knife making, II possible, q smooth,
clean cut. These operations should be mr..
formed In the SHADE, al precautlon being taken
% prevent the cutting from willing or tagging.
| shallow boNe such as can he readily placed on
the window sill Of the sitting room or paflor may
next he lled to The depth OF two inches with
sand, (plt sand being preferable to river sand J
the cuttings may be inserted al men deep, and
should be placed two or three inches apart, ac-
cordlng 20 the size OF the slip; the leaves may
touch each other. hnt the cuttings should not he
too crowded, as they are liable 10 damp on, and
should be well watered and shaded from the
bright rays Of the sun for few days; after
which, II the sand Ia kept constantly moist, lone
Of the essentials Of success being to never let the
sand get dry, which would cause your slips "a
wit or nag) no trouble may be appfehended un'
VI the slips are sufficiently rooted 70 bear re.
niOyal which will be In from two or three week,
from the time Of placing them In the sand
When the cuttings have pushed oat roots an Incl
: OF more IN length they should be transferred Il
small pots allied with good, rch, light earth an,
well watered, and shaded for a few days, Ia
when nfst placed In the cutting boxes,) Gfte
WuiCn; W. WIN careful Naierings, when the soil II
I
renceu. The plants may be subsequently plante,
; ~ the borders, choosing duh or clOndy day 70
the operation.
Many hard d-wOOded plants, such as roses AM
declduous shrubs, can be most readily propa
gated by the amateur florist by layering. Thi
, Is l0ns N the following manneri Select strong
young shoots OF partially ripened wood, that vii
bend easily, hut not sufficiently matured TO drol
= the leaves; next trim on the leaves and sid
shoots uf there are any for a space OF six o
, seven Inches near tho end OF the branch, an
! with sharp knife make an lncislOn (nldway
tIansyersely AMI horizontally half way throug
the shoot; bend IL into the ground, The cart
. having been previously removed to about fOu
Inches deep, and secure II In position by pegHin
II down; next cover II with earth, pressing IN
y soil nfmly about IL, and water two or three time
, week IN dry weather. In November or earle
= u will be well provided with roots and may b
safely severed from the parent plant Rose
may he layered At any time from July To Ser
tember. The grape vine VIII root freely froi
layers OF the preceding years growth,
q. v. BlBcoog,
! ! Major OF Engineers, In charge OF Public Build
! ings and Grounds.