The National tribune., 1882-08-12

R0SeS.-Al1 the tea roses, and indeed most
all varieties except the hybrid perpetual
class, may be propagated with fair success
during the next eight weeks, as follows:
Procure box one foot square, or any other
size, with sides not less than one foot IN
depth, remove the bottom from 1t, and set
the frame on the surface of the ground IN
any place where it will be shaded from the
sun-at least, from the midday sun. Fill
the box by first placing layer OF gravel,
broken brick, charcoal, or any such material
for drainage; this should be two inches In
depth at the least; over this place two or
three inches of rather sandy soil, pressing it
firmly, then on top about two inches OF clean
sand: washed road sand is generally the
cleanest and best for this purpose. The box
will now be a little over half full, and is
ready for the cuttings.
For propagation at this season, and under
the conditions proposed, the shoots should
be in the state known as half-ripened.
Shoots upon which the flowers have just
faded will usually be found in good state
for making into cuttings. While it Is not
absolutely essential to have more than one
bud or eye to cutting, yet it is necessary
that the cuttings should be at least three
inches in length, and if two or three joints
are included it will make no difference; the
object is to have the cutting of sufficient
length that it will not suffer from the I'M
mediate surface of the sand becoming dry.
Not more than one leaf need be retained on
the cutting, and it should be inserted SO
that the uppermost bud and leaf will be
level with the surface of the sand. After
setting, give good drenchng with water,
and keep the box covered during the day
with loose squares of glass, or, in the absence
Of this, with sheet of newspaper, taking
care to remove it at night. The manage
ment is now very simple, and consists in
keeping the cuttings moist, covering them
during the day, and exposing them fully at
night. Rains will not hurt the cuttings so
long as they are freely exposed, when the
sun is not shining on the box.
Ldlcns-A correspondent desires an opin-
ion upon the propriety of allowing the cut
grass from the moving machine to remain
on the lawn, so that it may act as mulch
to the roots of the grasses. With newly
made lawns, if cut frequently, the grass may
be allowed to remain for the first two or
three mowings, but we cannot commend the
practice beyond this, and we consider it much
better for the lawn to remove the grass at
once in all cases. We use closely toothed
wooden rake for this purpose, which, of
course, allows some of the shortest cut grass
to remain on the lawn, where they soon dis
appear, and suffice as a slight mulch without
becoming iniuriously thick and matted.
F1oaoer Beds.-Where Coleus are massed in
beds they appear to better advantage when
kept somewhat regular as to height, but not
clipped in too formal a manner. In tying
climbing plants it is not well to be over neat;
close tying tends to destroy that gracefulness
of disposition which such plants naturally
assume when left to themselves In gen.
eral way, the main stems only will require
fastening, allowing the side or lateral shoots
to take a natural position.
So,oins Iurnips NTH Grass.-Some of the
finest lawns that we have; seen were laid
down in the fall, the grasses being mixed
with turnip seed; and it might be further
stated that the best crop of turnips we have
seen were taken off such fields. We consider
this method very much superior to that of
sowing grass with any kind of grain crop in
spring. A better sward is made and heav-
ier crop of hay will be produced by sowing
on well-prepared ground in August than can
be secured by sowing grass seeds in the usual
way among grain crops the preceding spring
The shade of the turnip leaves forms con-
genial atmosphere for the spread of the young
grass plants during the autumn growth, and
the early frosts are warded off by the larger
leaves of the root crop, and as these wither
gradually the grass is slowly exposed to sun
light, and the well set turf will go through
the winter without injury, if the soil is in
good condition and not too wet.
PROTECTION AGAINST THE Rot IN Po-
TAToEs.-Mr. Jensen, of Copenhagen, as we
learn from European journals, has recently
published method by which he claims to
guard potatoes from rotting 1t has been
well established that this disease is due
to the attack Of a fungus which has received
the name of PerOn0spOra infeStans. In the
leaves of the plant the seeds or spores of the
fungus are developed, and by falling to the
ground the spores are carried by rains to the
tubers, on the surface of which they germi-
nate. That the disease is carried from the
leaves to the tubers in this way is claimed
to be a proved fact.
From this statement it is obvious that in
fighting the disease the main object must be
to prevent the spores from working their
way through the earth to the tubers, and
Mr.. Jensen states that his experiments have
convinced him that this can be done to such
a degree that even the most violent attacks
of the disease may, as rule, be almost neu-
tralized.
The means by which this may be effected
are very simple. 1t is only necessary to
throw up a high and sharp ridge of earth
round the potato plants at the first appear
ance of the disease on the foliage Any
moulding hitherto practiced in all countries
is fat moulding or hilling, by which the
uttcrmost tubers are only covered by layer
of one inch OF two inches of earth. but the
protecting system requires-after a preced-