SECRETARY'S REPORT. 169 



string, if too tight, should be removed, and tied again more loosely, 

 and above the bud only ; in another fortnight it is well to remove 

 the string entirely. 



When the buds swell the following spi'ing, the stock is to be cut 

 off three or four inches above the bud. So much of the stock it is well 

 leave in order to tie the bud to it, as it grows, to 

 prevent the shoot from being blown out by high 

 winds. All other shoots from the stock (the rob- 

 bers as they are called) are to be rubbed off as 

 often as they appear. The spring following the 

 stock may be cut off smoothly close to the bud. 



Cuttings and Layers. Some fruits, as the quince, 



gooseberry, grape and currant, are propagated 



usually in this way. Cuttings consist of shoots of 



the previous year's growth, and are of any length 



from a single eye or bud to a foot or more long. 



Usually they are made from eight to ten inches in 



length ; are cut in the fall and planted out early 



the next spring in well prepared soil, so that only , . q, , , .. 



two or three buds are above the surface. Mulch- ^jjg gj.gj. season. 



ing, by covering the ground with coarse manure, (6). Dotted line 



leaves, seaweed -or litter of some sort, is useful in showing where it 



. ., .1 mi is to be cut off 



preserving an even moisture m the soil. The grape ^^^^^^^^ ^j^^ g^^ 



is sometimes propagated by cuttings of a single ondyear. 



bud each. These should be planted in a hot-bed, 



nearly spent, so as to afford a gentle bottom heat. 



A Layer is a cutting which has been prepared one or two years 

 previously. A shoot starting from near the ground is bent down 

 and the lower portion confined by a hooked peg and then covered 

 with soil. Success is rendered more certain by checking the re- 

 turn flow of sap, which may be done by twisting the shoot at the 

 point covered, or better still, by entering a knife on the under 

 side and cutting upward half way through the shoot, thus forming 

 a tongue, and fastening it open with a little soil. The sap as it 

 returns is here stopped and forms, first granulations and then roots. 

 When the layer is suflBciently rooted it may be removed and planted 

 out by itself. 



Trees are sometimes purposely kept headed down for raising 

 layers, and are then called stools. A quince plant thus made into 

 a stool, and its twigs layered, may be made to produce many finely 

 rooted plants in a single season. This method is largely used 



