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" on securely with tow or other soft bandage ; make it fast to a stake, 

 11 if necessary ; hang a small pot, having a hole in the bottom, just 

 " over the gootee, and supply it with water daily. In a few months 

 " you will obtain a fine, well-rooted plant. As the fibres are emit- 

 " ted from the buds that are above the wound, they will descend into 

 " the ball of earth and form roots. As soon as they are seen pro- 

 " trading themselves through the bandage, the branch may be cut 

 " off from the parent tree, and planted where it is intended that it 

 " should remain. This appears to be the most expeditious method 

 " of obtaining strong, well-rooted plants, and, at the same time, is 

 " a sure method of procuring duplicates of any desirable variety. 

 " Of sixty-five gootees made in June, of the Jonesia Asoca, the whole 

 " were well-rooted in October ; while of forty-five layers made at the 

 " same time, and on the same individual tree, none were well-rooted, 

 " and some only just beginning to form. The leechee requires four 

 " months to form good roots. 



" Unless some precaution be taken, the water in the pot above 

 " the gootee will flow out too fast, and very often not fall upon the 

 " gootee at all. To obviate this, therefore, the following contri- 

 " vance is commonly resorted to : — 



" A piece of rope has a knot tied at one end of it; the other 

 " end is passed within the pot and drawn through the hole at its 

 " bottom till the knot is brought down to fall upon and close up 

 11 the hole. The rope thus secured by its knotted end within the 

 " pot is carried on at full stretch, and coiled round the gootee. 

 " By this means the water, when poured into the pot, oozes slowly 

 " out, trickles down the rope and along the coil, and so distributes 

 " itself over the whole gootee." 



367. Propagation by cuttings in the case of the Ficus elastica is 

 one of the most simple methods of continuing the species, and may 

 be conducted at nearly all seasons of the year, though, of course, 

 the best time to take cuttings is when the sap is in full motion, 

 cuttings taken between the middle of March and end of April also 

 do well, but more caution is necessary at this season. 



368. The cuttings should be selected from wood somewhat 

 ripened, rather than from that still in a stage of formation ; and a 

 preference given to the branches nearest the ground, those having 

 always the greatest tendency to throw out roots. Amputation has 

 to be performed with a clean cross cut below an eye or bud, the 

 formation of roots most readily developing there. A loamy soil is, 

 perhaps, the best for striking cuttings, which should be inserted in 

 a slanting direction with not more than two buds exposed above 

 ground ; and the leaves allowed to drop off, of their own accord. 

 Excess of moisture must be avoided, which points to the necessity 



