105 



down to prevent breaking the branch. The layer is usually suffi- 

 ciently rooted to remove in two years. The operation of layering 

 should be performed in spring when the buds begin to start. 



Another method of layering is described in the American Gar- 

 deners' Magazine, Vol. 2, p. 376, and is as follows : " Remove a 

 ring of bark about a sixteenth of an inch thick between every bud 

 on the shoot, in the manner common ringing is performed on trees. 

 In this way each bud will occupy one inch of the stem between the 

 rings. The stems when thus prepared should be laid down hori- 

 zontally, about three inches under the soil, leaving only the leading 

 bud at the end of each branch out of the soil. In six months each 

 bud will have made a vigorous shoot and radical fibres. In August, 

 carefully separate each plant and plant them out. 



Vertical division of the stem. — According to Hovey, 1836, this 

 curious operation was only practiced by the Chinese. An old plant 

 was selected and the stem regularly split into four or six equal 

 portions from the top to the bottom even among the roots ; these 

 divisions were kept separated until the wounds began to dry, when 

 the middle of the stem was filled with a sort of plaster made of 

 mortar and rich earth, with which was mixed a small quantity of 

 sulphur. The operation was performed in the spring and the plant 

 allowed to remain till autumn, when each division was separated 

 with the portion of root belonging to it. This method is not in 

 vogue at the present time. 



Cuttings of the stem.- — It is rather difficult to root cuttings suc- 

 cessfully. They should be taken off in August or September, with 

 a portion of the old wood attached, and planted in pots with a 

 compost of loam, leaf mold, and a large portion of sand. The 

 pots should be well drained, and the cuttings planted close to the 

 side of each. Cover them with bell glasses, and place them in a 

 shady situation for a time ; when winter comes they should be 

 sheltered from frost, and in February and March, assisted in their 

 growth, by a hotbed. 



Another method of making cuttings is to take sections of the 

 stem an inch in length, with a bud on each ;/ slit up the stem behind 

 and take away the pith ; insert them in pots three inches under the 

 soil and plunge the pots in an exhausted hotbed where there is a 

 temperature of about 60 degrees. In two months they will have 

 rooted and made young shoots. 



I think I cannot do better here than to quote at length from a 

 very excellent article by Robert Fortune in the " Gardeners' Chron- 



