THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



large, the tops may be cut off with a sharp pair of scissors. 

 This saves too much evaporation. Plant in damp warm sand 

 almost up to the leaves themselves. Keep watered and shaded 

 from direct rays of the sun in bottom heat of about 70° F. for 

 three weeks. Fresh air is essential at this time. Stagnant air 

 will cause the plants to "damp off." 



The box into which the cuttings are first placed in sand should 

 be five or six inches deep. The bottom should have about an 

 inch of good soil on it before the sand is put in. In case some 

 of the cuttings strike root sooner than others, they will then 

 have food to live on until the others are ready. Great care, 

 however, should be exercised not to allow the cutting to touch 

 the soil. The roots will find it soon enough. 



On removing a cutting from the sand, little hair-like roots 

 will be found coming from the end of the stem, and sometimes 

 from the joint itself. Plant this carefully in a three-inch pot 

 filled with sandy loam, and allow to grow until the pot is nearly 

 filled with roots. These plants may be shifted into larger pots 

 if necessary before setting out. The roots must never become 

 crowded. 



If there is plenty of space in the greenhouse the cuttings 

 may be rooted in the pots where they are to grow. Fill three 

 inch pots with light sandy loam, and pack fairly snugly. With 

 a pointed stick, force a hole in the center, and put a little sand 

 in the bottom. Hold the cutting there so that it does not 

 touch any soil, and fill in with sand. Plunge these pots into 

 warm wet sand, and allow them to root in the ordinary way. 

 The little roots will reach the soil quickly, and grow on with- 

 out any check. 



Meanwhile the shoots from which these cuttings have been 

 taken will have made two side shoots from the joints which are 

 left. These in turn may be cut off and rooted as soon as three 

 sets of leaves are made, and every time a cutting is taken, 

 twice the number of shoots appear. Twelve cuttings from each 

 main stalk is as many as it is safe to make, for the tuber becomes 

 exhausted. Later cuttings are weak, bloom poorly, and some- 

 times do not make tubers to carry over the following winter. 

 This is why I do not recommend buying green plants from 



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