196 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
are very readily propagated by “veneer” grafting under glass 
in winter, using white spruce (Picea sanedenen for stock. 
The broad-leaved evergreens, such as rhododendron, moun- 
tain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), azalea, holly (Ilex opaca), An- 
dromeda, etc., are propagated by seeds, cuttings, grafting, and 
layering. The seeds should be sown in the spring in pans 
or boxes of sandy peat, and, if covered at all, finely cut 
sphagnum moss should be used lightly. As soon as the 
seedlings appear, they should be pricked off into flats, placed 
in a cool greenhouse or cold-frame, and gradually hardened 
off. Holly seeds, as a rule, take a long time to germinate, 
2, and sometimes 3, years elapsing between the sowing of 
the seeds and the appearance of the seedlings. As soon as 
the seeds are ripe they should be collected and mixed with 2 
or 3 times their bulk of sand in flats, and exposed to changes 
of weather for 12 months. At the end of that time they 
should be brought into a warm greenhouse to hasten germin- 
ation. After the seedlings appear they should be left un- 
disturbed for 2 years, when they should be taken up, their 
roots pruned back, and set out in the nursery. When prop- 
_ agation by cuttings is employed the half-ripe wood is cut 
to a heel, and the cuttings rooted in a greenhouse during the 
winter or in a specially prepared hot-bed during the summer. 
Veneer praleng is performed upon potted plants in late 
summer or ear fall, the grafted plants being kept close, 
either in a greenhouse or covered with moist sphagnum moss, 
until callusing takes place. Layering is sometimes prac- 
tised, but the layers cannot usually be separated until the 
second year. 
Whatever the methods of propagation, it is necessary as 
soon as possible to plant the evergreens in the nursery row 
and to keep them cultivated for several years, at which time 
they are large enough to plant out permanently. Frequent 
transplanting should be practised in order to secure a com- 
pact, fibrous root system. This is best accomplished late in 
the spring during cloudy weather, in order that the roots 
may not become by exposure to the sun and wind. Fall 
planting is also practised with satisfactory results after the 
plants have become dormant in October or November. The 
trees are dug from the nursery row with a large ball of soil 
attached to the roots, these being less easily broken or made 
bare if wrapped in burlap until planting time. When plant- 
ing, a hole is dug large enough to admit the entire ball of 
soil. If done in the spring “puddling” is resorted to by 
filling the hole with water several times, and after it settles 
putting the tree in place. Little benefit is derived from sur- 
