22 > PROPAGATION < >F TROPICAL FRUIT TREFS, ETC. 



w ill face the north. The interior may be about 8 feet wide. This 

 .space will be ample for two benches, each 2 feet 9 inches wide, one on 

 each side of a central path. 2 feet 6 inches wide. The heating- appa- 

 ratus should be sufficient to keep the sand at a temperature of 60 c F., 

 and the temperature of the house should not fall below 50° F. At all 

 times a humid atmosphere should be maintained. During- bright sun- 

 shine the glass should be shaded. One way to accomplish this is by 

 lengths of cloth fixed on rollers. There is, however, always danger 

 of neglecting to lower the cloth at the proper time, so that the safer 

 plan would l>e to put on a permanent shade by painting the glass with 

 white lead and turpentine. The 1 tenches should be constructed at a 

 height of about 3 feet from the floor, and the uprights so made that 

 the pipes may be boxed in, leaving a small door, provided with leather 

 hinges, at intervals of 8 or 10 feet to supply the necessary heat to the 

 house during extra cold weather. The bottom of the bench should be 

 of wood. 2-inch planks being the preferable size, one-quarter inch 

 spacer being left between the planks for drainage. Four inches of 

 clean sand will be ample. Previous to putting in the cuttings beat the 

 sand firmly with a piece of 4 by 4 inch scantling. The beds are then 

 ready for the cuttings. 



CUTTINGS. 



The cuttings of the tea plant take a long time to root, and conse- 

 quently it has been found that the most propitious season for rooting 

 is during the winter months, the cuttings being put in the sand any 

 time during the month of November. 



The best wood to use for the cuttings is a moderate-sized branch of 

 the current season's growth taken from a plant the leaves of which 

 have not been picked over within the previous six months. As many 

 branches should be cut at one time as will make about 500 cuttings, 

 the leaves being dampened with a sprinkler as soon as they are brought 

 indoors and the cuttings made before the leaves have an opportunity 

 to dry out. They may be made into lengths of from 4 to 5 inches 

 (PI. VII. figs. 1 and 2), as cuttings longer than that are not so certain 

 to root. A medium-sized shoot will make several cuttings. The ter- 

 minal part of the shoot may be used if the wood is firm or well ripened. 

 At least two leaves should be left on each cutting, and if the leave- 

 are quite close together several may be left. The reason for leaving 

 only a few leaves is that the nearer they are to the surface of the sand 

 the better the chance of the cutting to root, as the moisture condenses 

 on the under surface of the leaves, thereby keeping the cutting in a 

 crisp and fresh condition until the roots are formed. Plate VII, fig. 2, 

 shows two cuttings ready to be put in the sand. In putting in the 

 cuttings the propagator will usually find it most convenient to work 

 from left to right. The necessary tools are a dibble, a flat piece of 



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