DIRECTIONS FOR BLUEBERRY CULTURE. 7 



.-ibout two mouths in moist si)lj;i.i;iium on iro al a tempera I luc Just above 

 freezing. 



2. The cuttings are to be made from vigorous plants grown in well-lighted 

 situations and with stems therefore well stored with starch. T'se unbranched 

 portions of the old and hardened branches and stems, about a quarter of an 

 inch to an inch or e\en more in diameter. Three to four inches is a suitable 

 and convenient length. Make the cuts with pruning shears or a fine-toothed 

 saw and remove the bruised wood at the cut ends with a sharp knife. Be 

 cai'eful not to injure the bark or split or strain the wood. 



3. Lay the cuttings horizontally in a shallow box or other cutting bed of 

 pure clean Siind and cover them to the depth of about half an inch. :Moisten 

 the sand well with rain water, bog water, or other pure water (free from 

 lime) from a sprinkling pot. and see that the sand is closely and firmly packed 

 about the cuttings. Cover the box or cutting bed with a pane or panes of 

 glass, the top of the box being flat, so that the glass fits it rather tightly. The 

 i)ox should be so prepared that any surplus water in the sand will drain away 

 beneath through holes in the bottom covered with clean broken crocks and 

 sphagnum moss. 



4. Keep the box at a temperature of 55° to 65° F., or as near those limits as 

 practicable. A temperature of 70° or over is likely to ruin the cuttings. 



5. In order to avoid excessive temperatures, do not allow direct sunlight upon 

 the glass, either keei>ing the box by north light or keeping it shaded, as by a 

 white cloth or palmer cover susi^ended several inches above the glass or in a 

 shaded greenhouse. 



6. Keep the air inside the box saturated with moisture. This condition will 

 be evidenced by the condensation of the moisture on the under side of the 

 glass during the cooler part of the day or whenever a cold wind blows against 

 the glass. 



7. Watering should be as infrequent as practicable, only suHicient to keep the 

 sand moist but well aerated and the atmosphere in the box saturated. If the 

 glass fits tightly, a second watering may not be needetl for several weeks, when 

 ventilation of the growing shoots has reduced the moisture of the cutting bed. 



8. Within a few weeks new growth will begin to appear above the sand. 

 Ventilation may then be given by sliding the glass until a crack is left open 

 at one side of the box, but the air beneath the glass should still remain in a 

 condition of approximate saturation. If the new growth starts to wilt, reduce 

 the ventilation till the wilting ceases. 



9. When the shoots have reached a length nroixtrtionate to their vigor, com- 

 monly 1 to 3 inches, their further growth is self-terminated by the death of the 

 tip. After the leaves have reached their full size and acquired the dark-gi-een 

 color of maturity the time has come for the development of roots. 



10. When the first shoot has reache<l this rooting stage a half-inch layer of 

 finely sifted rotted peat. 2 parts, and clean sand. 1 i)art, should- be placed on 

 the .surface of the cutting ])ed and moistened well with water, 



11. The new gi-owth, which if it had originated above the sand would be a 

 true stem, like an ordinary shoot, was transformed in working its way through 

 the sand and became a scaly erect rootstock, which on reaching the surface of 

 the sand continued its develojmient into a leafy shoot. During the spring and 

 early summer roots form in abundance on the lower or rootstock portion of 

 these shoots, 



12. After a shoot is well rooted it makes secondary twig growth, usually 

 from a bud in the axil of the npijermost leaf. If the rooting of the shoot has 



[Cir. 122] 



