THE SECKETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 331 



Following up the same topic further we gather from the Micliigan Farmer 

 that water alone, if still and pure, will serve as a bed in which to secure the 

 rooting of green cuttings from growing shoots. A single cutting, or two or 

 three, may be set in a bottle of water as soon as taken off, and held in place at 

 the neck, by a bit of cotton to support the cutting, so that its base may be in 

 the water, and the top, with its two or three small leaves, exposed to the air. 

 As it will not be safe to disturb the cutting by changing the water, it is a good 

 plan to put a few small bits of charcoal into the bottle, A simpler method 

 still is to put an inch or two of sand into the saucer, and fill to the same 

 height with water. The sand serves to hold the cuttings upright in the saucer, 

 and quite a number can be set in one saucer. No covering will be needed in 

 ordinarily genial June or September weather, and the cuttings will not flag in 

 mild sunshine if they are from sun-loving plants. As soon as rooted they must 

 be changed and tenderly planted in good, mellow, sifted soil. 



PROPAGATING BY SPROUTS. 



" Quis Quis,"' in the Xew York Tribune, says that our fruit books teach mis- 

 leading doctrine when they unconditionally prefer seedling stocks to sprouts. 

 When we use seedlings we run the risk of what the constitutional vigor or 

 hardiness of each individual seedling may be; usually more than half will prove 

 to be naturally weak. When one of these seedlings has attained age enough to 

 show its power of making growth — of throwing out roots freely, forming firm, 

 healthy leaves, and ripening stout wood completely, a sprout from such a stock 

 is far preferable to the average of seedlings, and beyond comparison with the 

 weakest among them. There are sorts of grapes, currants, willows, shrubs, etc., 

 which have been grown solely from sprouts or cuttings for centuries without 

 any diminution of vigor. The only care needed in this simple means of propa- 

 gation is that roots be freely thrown out in every direction to properly brace 

 and support the future tree. This end is usually secured by shortening the 

 roots found on the sprout, which induces a multiplied emission in all direc- 

 tions. A second transplanting aids much in this establishment of abundant 

 roots. 



GRAFTS CUT BELOW ZERO. 



John J. Thomas questions if the doctrine about the worthlessuess of grafts 

 cut in severe weather be true. He thinks it would be a curious inquiry to 

 ascertain where this opinion originated, for it has evidently been copied by 

 many without examination. We never could discover any other harm from 

 pruning trees in cold weather than what results from pruning before the 

 arrival of the cold, and that is simply making them more tender and liable to 

 injury by the cutting or wounds. And the only harm which could happen to 

 grafts cut under a low temperature, is sudden thawing by taking them into a 

 hot room instead of packing in damp moss. The past winter, when the ther- 

 mometer was several degrees below zero, pruning Avas performed on both fruit 

 and hardy evergreen trees, and no apparent harm whatever has been the result. 



