220 



Royal Society. 



Second Batch. — Planted in the open ground on the 1st of Sep- 

 tember, and examined on the 1st of October : — 



Hardy Plants. 



Number of 

 cuttings 



with 

 collodion 

 applied. 



Name of plant. 



Number of 



cuttings 



which took 



root. 



Number of 

 cuttings with- 

 out the appli- 

 cation of col- 

 lodion. 



Number of 



cuttings 



which took 



root. 



Garrya elliptica 



Erica vagans 



Bupleurum longifolium 



Laurus foetens 



Rose, Souvenir de la Malmaison.. 

 Taxus baccata, golden-leaved var. 



12 

 12 

 18 

 12 

 6 

 12 



Total number of 



cuttings to which 



collodion was 



applied. 



Number of 



cuttings which 



took root. 



Total number of 



cuttings without 



the application 



of collodion. 



Number of 



cuttings which 



took root. 



First batch . . 

 Second batch 



59 

 72 



46 

 40 



59 d 



I'^'y mo 



■19' f.fBirt 

 ^f 



The experiment, the author considers, speaks for itself. Not- 

 withstanding the season being too far advanced for the full benefit 

 of the process to be thoroughly observed, still twice as many cut- 

 tings took root treated by the new method as had rooted by the old. 

 The mortality in the open ground was increased by slugs having 

 eaten off above the soil some of the cuttings ; those thus damaged 

 were examined after they had been in the ground a month, and it 

 was found that the collodion was quite as sound as when first ap- 

 plied. It would therefore appear that the collodion seals the wound 

 of the cutting, and protects it from the fatal effects of damp, until 

 roots are prepared to force through the covering of gun-cotton. It 

 is further stated, that the application of this solution has been found 

 to be exceedingly beneficial in the pruning of such plants as Eu- 

 phorbia speciosa, Impatiens latifolia, Impatiens latifolia-alba, Hoya 

 bella, Hoya imperialis, &c., the cut branches being prevented from 

 bleeding. 



It is the author's intention next spring to follow out this experi- 

 ment, in budding and grafting, as he considers that it will also be 

 useful in this branch of horticulture. 



Gutta-percha, dissolved in aether, was in some instances substi- 

 tuted to heal the wounds caused by pruning ; yet owing to this so- 

 lution not drying as rapidly as collodion, the first, and sometimes 

 the second application was not sufficient. 



The eiFect of these solutions upon cut flowers was very marked. 

 Two branches were gathered as nearly alike as possible ; to the 

 flower-stalks of the one, collodion was applied. These flowers 

 were placed in vases filled with water; those coated over with 



