ON RAISING PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS.* 



BY M. NEUMANN, PARIS 



No. XI. Cuttings by Pieces of the 

 Trunk. — This mode of multiplication, which 

 I first published seven years ago, is now in 

 use in all countries. I employed, for the first 

 time, Cycas circinalis, which was then rare in 



Fig. 11. — Section of the trunk of Cycas circinalis.. 



green-houses. For this purpose I cut some 

 slips, or slices, l.\ inches or 2 inches thick; 

 I then left them freely exposed to heat for 

 four or five days, to dry them ; then I ]ilantcd 

 them in pots of suitable size, which I placed 

 covered with a bell-glass, upon a hot-bed. 

 These slices are not long before they emit 

 roots, and show shoots between the scales ; 

 (fig. 11.) When all these were formed, I de- 

 tached them, in order to make cuttings, which 

 developed themselves as well as the plant 

 which served to make the cuttings'. I did not 

 then doubt that, in dividing these slices of 

 Cycas like the roots of Paulownia, I should 

 obtain the same results ; I then cut them 

 into several pieces {d c, fig. 11,) each of 

 which gave me a new plant. The head of 

 the Cycas (a,) which I had cut to obtain the 

 slices, was planted after having been exposed 

 to the air of the stove for three weeks ; I did 

 not expect any result from it, because it was 

 so young ; but, in the following year, I per- 



ceived that this head had taken root, and it 

 soon produced shoots which showed them- 

 selves in the same manner as the parts before 

 cut. It is generally one year before these 

 cuttings take root. Perhaps we shall be able 

 some day to obtain plants of Cycas by striking 

 the scales with which this plant is provided. 



Peg Cuttings.— The easiest and simplest 

 of all cuttings is known under the name of 

 peg cutting ; it is that generally used f or^m l- 

 tiplying trees which grow near wa- 

 ter, such as Osiers, Poplars, &c. ^ 

 For this purpose we employ branch- 

 es of a certain strength, and we cut 

 the lower end to a point, as in fig. 

 12 ; we then force it into a hole in 

 the ground previously made by a 

 stake, or, which is preferable, into 

 a hole larger than the cutting, and 

 which we then fill with earth, press- 

 ing it down as soon as the cutting is put in 

 its place. Everybody knows that cuttings 

 root more easily in a light soil than in one 

 too compact ; it is for this reason that I ad- 

 vise tins last method. I ought here to no- 

 tice, among the Poplars, P. heterophylla and 

 P. argentea, which take root from cuttings 

 with difficulty. They are, therefore, better 

 grafted on P. Caroliniana, to -^^ 

 which they have more analogy. 



Cuttings of the Trunk, 

 — This species of propagation 

 is the same as peg cuttings 

 made with stronger branches ; 

 I mention it separately here, 

 in order to call to mind that 

 we may make cuttings of trees o 

 of considerable size, (fig. 13.) /l\'^' 

 Anybody may have seen on)! ' 

 the borders of rivers, where 

 Willows are cultivated, the 

 stems of such trees sharpened, 

 and forced into the soil to keep 

 together the beds ; these Wil- 

 lows root freely, and often live for a long 



* Continued from page 19. 



Fig. 13. 



