CUTTINGS. 



80 



diately under the joint, with, a clean 

 cut, preserving a few of the leaves 

 on, and making the lower end of the 

 cutting quite firm in the sandy soil 

 in which it is planted. In the 

 summer time, such cuttings may be 

 planted in the fi-ee soil ; and at other 

 seasons, in order to admit of i^ro- 

 tection, in pots. In whichever mode 

 they are planted, they must be kept 

 in the shade, and in an uniform state 

 in regard to moisture, till they have 

 begun to grow. Their gro"wing is an 

 indication of their having taken root, 

 when they should be taken up, and 

 each planted in a separate pot. 



Hard-wooded greenhouse plants, 

 such as Camellias, Myrtles, evergreen 

 Acacias, and most Cape and Austra- 

 lian shrubs with comparatively broad 



FIG. 4. — CUTTIXG OF A CAMELLIA. 



plants have made their growth, as 

 most Australian shrubs do, in Feb- 



; ruary or March, and the cuttings 

 are taken off and j^lanted in these 



I months, they will root that same 

 season, and be fit to transplant into 

 small pots in the course of the 

 summer. To accomplish this object, 

 it is common with cultivators to 

 force forward the plants from which 

 cuttings are to be taken, by remo- 

 ving them from the greenhouse to 

 the hothouse in January ; and after 

 they have made their shoots, to 

 harden these before making the 

 cuttings, by removing the plants 

 back again to the greenhouse. Most 

 cuttings of this kind require to be 

 covered "with a hand-glass, and some 

 with a bell-glass. 



Heath-like plants, suoh as Erica, 

 E'pacris, Diosma, are among the 

 most difficult to propagate by cut- 

 tings. The points of the shoots only 



leaves, are a degree or two more j 

 difficult to strike than Geraniums 

 and Fuchsias. The points of the ■ 

 shoots, after the spring growth has ' 

 been completed, and before the young | 

 wood is thoroughly ripened, should i 

 be used ; and the soil should contain ] 

 a large proportion of sand, and be ■ 

 thoroughly drained. If cuttings of ' 

 this kind are put in during autumn, ' 

 they require to be kept through the 

 winter under glass, and they will not 

 produce roots till spring ; but if the 



FIG. 5. — CUTTIXG OF A HEATH. 



are to be taken ; and these, in some 

 cases, should be not more than one 

 inch in length. These should be 

 taken off early in sjiring, when the 

 plants have nearly ceased growing ; 

 and they should be cut clean across 

 at a joint, and the leaves clipped, 

 or cut off, for about half-an-iuch of 

 their length. The cuttings, thus 

 prepared, are planted in pure white 

 sand, well drained, with a little 

 peat- soil, as a substratum ; and 

 they are covered with a bell-glass, 

 and placed in a frame near the 

 glass, and shaded. The best time 

 for putting in Heath cuttings is in 



