DIRECTIONS FOR BLUEBERRY CULTURE. 5 



the plant or as many of the stems as it is desired to devote to tliis metliod of 

 propagation. Tlie stems that are cut off are discarded, or they may be used for 

 cuttings, as described under " Tubering." 



2. Cover the stumps to the depth of 2 to 3 inches with a mixture of clean 

 sand and sifted peat, about 4 parts of sand to 1 of peat, by bulk. A rough 

 box or frame may be built on the ground to keep the sand bed in place. 



3. Care must be taken that the sand bed be not allowed to become dry. except 

 at the surface, during the summer. 



4. The new growth from the stumps, which without the sand would consist 

 of stems merely, is transformed in working its way through the sand bed into 

 scaly, erect or nearly erect rootstocks which, on reaching the surface of the 

 sand, continue their development into leafy shoots. Although roots are formed 

 only sparingly on the covered bases of stems, they develop abundantly during 

 spring and early summer on these artificially produced rootstocks, and by the 

 end of autunni all the shoots should be well rooted at the base. They should 

 remain in place in the sand bed till late winter or early spring, undisturbed 

 and exix)sed to outdoor freezing temperatures, but the sand mulched with leaves, 

 preferably those of red oaks. 



5. Early in the following spring, before the buds have begun to imsh. open the 

 bed and sever each rooted shoot carefully from the stump. Discard the upper 

 portion of the shoot, making the cut at such a point as to leave on the basal 

 portion about three buds above the former le\el of the sand bed. If the cut 

 Jit the basal end of the rooted shoot is not smooth or the wood is cracked, recut 

 the surface with a sharp thin4)laded knife. The discarded upper portion of 

 the shoot may be used for cuttings, as described under " Tubering." 



(*). Set the rooted shoots in a cold frame or a cool greenhouse in clean 

 earthenware pots of suitable size, ordinarily .3-inch i)ots. in a soil mixture con- 

 sisting of 2 parts of rotted upland peat, by bulk, to 1 part of sand and 1 part 

 of clean broken crocks. 



7. Cover the frame with a painted sash or with thin muslin, giving the 

 plants plenty of light but no direct sunlight, and for the tirst two or three 

 months keep the temperature at not to exceed (>~>° F. if practicable. When sub- 

 jected to high temperatures the newly cut shoots are liable to die and rot from 

 the base upward. The outer surface of the pots should never be allowed to 

 become dry. The desired condition may be assured by bedding the pots in moist 

 sand up to the rim. 



8. Watering should be as infrequent as practicable, only sufficient to keep the 

 soil moist but well aerated. 



9. The frame should receive ventilation, but not enough to cause the new 

 twigs to droop. These are most susceptible to overventilation and to overheat- 

 ing when they have nearly completed their growth. 



10. After the new twigs have stopi)ed growing and their wood becomes 

 hard, new root growth takes place. Then secondary twig growth follows, either 

 from the apex of the new twigs or from another bud lower down on the old 

 wood of the original rooted shoot. Until this secondary twig growth takes place 

 the life of the plant is not assured. 



11. Those plants that make sulhcient growth to require repotting during the 

 first summer should be set in clean pots of 2 inches larger diameter in a standard 

 blueberry soil mixture. 



SOIL MIXTURE FOR BLUEBERRIES. 



A very successful potting mixture, or nursery-bed mixture, for blue- 

 berry plants consists of one part of clean or washed sand, nine parts 



[Cir. 122] 



