STARTING PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS 31 
The medium most commonly used in which to 
root cuttings is clean, medium-coarse sand, such as 
builders use. It must not be so fine as to pack 
tightly, nor so coarse as to fit loosely about the cut- 
tings, and admit air so freely as to dry them out. 
Make a flat similar to that used for starting seeds, 
but four or five inches deep. Place in the bottom 
an inch or two of gravel or coal ashes, covered 
lightly with moss or a single thickness of old bag, 
and then fill nearly full of clean sand. Make this 
level, and give a thorough soaking. After drying 
out for an hour or so, it is ready for the cuttings. 
Mark the box off in straight lines, two or three 
inches apart, and insert the cuttings as closely as 
possible without touching, and to a depth of about 
one-third or one-half their length. A small, pointed 
stick, or dibber, will be convenient in getting them 
in firmly. Wet them down to pack the sand closely 
around them. 
The best temperature for the room in which the 
cutting box is to be kept will be from fifty to fifty- 
five degrees at night. Like the seed box, however, 
it will be greatly helped by ten or fifteen degrees of 
bottom heat in addition. For method of giving 
this extra bottom heat, see page 26. 
If the box is kept in a bright sunny place, shade 
the cuttings with a piece of newspaper during the 
heat of the day, to prevent wilting, and if the 
weather is so hot that the room is warmer than 
