Propagation is done by suckers and mound layers, though the American varieties grow easily from cuttings. To procure strong mound layers, cut the old bushes back in the late fall or early spring to encourage new shoots to spring up from the roots, and when they are from one to two feet high press them outward from the parent plant, covering the base of the shoot up to about four inches above the root with earth, packing it well down. Then in the fall or following spring sever the shoot from the parent plant and transplant to the permanent home. Let them stand about four feet apart each way. HOW TO RAISE PERENNIAL PLANTS The revival of the old-time hardy garden has become such a craze among fashionable folk that the country woman who desires to add to her income will find growing perennial plants for sale a profitable occupation, provided, remember, that there is a well-to-do community near at hand where she may find a ready market. Like all occupations which have to do with Nature, it is folly to attempt it unless you have an innate love of the work, for it requires the comprehensive sympathy of a real affinity, as well as technical knowledge, to rear either plants or animals successfully. The great advantage in raising bedding plants is the small space and capital required. A hundred square feet, and two or three dollars for seeds, will enable anyone to make a beginning, which can easily be worked up into a large business. The correct month for starting perennials from seed is June, but as that necessitates waiting about nine months for any returns, I am sure the beginner will agree with me in thinking it is best to start some in the house or hotbed, for then the varieties which flower the first season can be sold in May or June, and those which don’t flower until the second season will be large, strong plants in October, when many people set out hardy plants. The sashes for hotbeds, glazed and painted ready for use, cost only three dollars and fifty cents each, and the walls of the beds can be made out of any old boards, so they do not add very much to the expense of starting, but if you do not care to undertake anything so professional as this at first, it is quite possible to manage with shallow boxes, if you have a south or southeast window in a room which averages from sixty to sixty-five degrees. The first consideration is getting good potting mould for the seed-beds or boxes. It must be light and fibrous, a condition best arrived at by shaving off the under side of grass sods, and mixing with about twice the amount of ordinary garden soil and a little fine sand. But as you are not likely to have a store of sods, and the frozen condition of the ground will make it difficult to get them, you must substitute well-rotted cow manure. Have ordinary garden soil carried into some place warm enough to dissipate all frost, then mix thoroughly with the pulverised manure and sand. Pass through a fine sieve, and it will be ready for use.