Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/250

 the latter way the sap cannot go so far back, as the roots spring usually from the joint. Take a large pot, say a 10 or 12-inch, turn a small pot upside down in it, resting the rim of the latter on three pieces of broken china, so as to let the water drain off. Then fill up with charcoal to an inch above the small pot. Next place some sandy soil (about half-an-inch of it) over the charcoal; now put eight inches of good rich soil mixed with leaf mould, on top of that a little decayed manure, then last add a layer of clean washed white sand. Wash the sand over and again till it is quite white and clean, unless it won't fall in between and fill up and exclude all air. Now, with a smooth, round cane, a little thicker than the cuttings, make holes in a slanting direction about two inches apart, and one inch or one-and-a -half inches deep, then put the cuttings in the holes and press the sand firmly round them and water with a very fine rose watering pot. Keep the sun off for five or six days and see that they don't get too dry. The reason the cuttings are put in slanting, is to let the full weight of the sand be on them, so that it will close tighter round them. A pot is is the best to strike, because it is warmer than a box. For draining flower pots, pieces of bone are much better than broken crockery or stones, as the plants suck the fertilizing qualities from the bones.

Mark out a space about twelve feet in width, or larger if necessary. Put in the four posts, having them not less than seven feet in height, place wall-plates upon them, trimming them off with the adze at each end, so that they can be nailed on to the posts and to each other. For the roof cut four saplings six or eight feet long, place one on each post and let the four meet together in the centre, and tie or nail them securely together.

A good plan is to have a strong post, say twelve feet high, and nail the four roof sticks on to it. You will now have a very good frame of a summer house, and you can close in a portion of each side with roughly-arranged ti-tree saplings, or a better plan is to fix a length of wire netting from the wall plate to the ground in the centre of each side, leaving a space on each side.

Wire or strong twine can be used to cover the open space in the roof, or a few thin pieces of batten can be tacked across. The less there is the better, as the creepers will very soon cover the frame, and if a lot of wood is used it soon rots, and may break the creepers when falling.

The Banksia rose makes a good covering, and is very strong and clean, that is, the leaves do not fall much. Idollicus is one of the quickest growers, and an evergreen. But there are hundreds of creepers all equally suitable for covering a summer house.