42. CHINCHONA CULTIVATION IN INDIA, 
discovered that cuttings from old wood, or rather from. wood, three, 
to four months old, were difficult to root, requiring from two to three, 
months, and that it frequently damped off. ©- It. soon became plain that, 
the youngest wood that could be procured was the best adapted for 
making cuttings, as the young tender shoots, from a fortnight to three, 
weeks old, formed roots in a very short time, the majority of these. 
cuttings being rooted invariably within a month ; it is however difficult), 
to deal with this description of wood, and. to ensure suecess requires. 
a great amount of care. The earth in which these cuttings are placed: 
is prepared as before described for the seeds; it is, however, kept a. 
little drier. The cuttings, on being made, are placed around the sides) 
of pots, the cut end of each being pressed firmly on a piece of dry. 
brick. Each pot contains from 20 to 30 cuttings, and as they are filled. 4 
they are immediately removed from the propagating frames and plunged), 
into beds of damp sand, on a bottom-heat of about 80° degrees Fahr. : 
The cuttings are now carefully watched, and their leaves moistened’ by: 
a fine syringe, when the atmosphere in the cases : appears dry.; they are, 
however, never watered, it being very necessary to success to avoid. 
this, as we have invariably found that when the earth is once watered 
it causes the cuttings to damp off and seriously retards their rooting: 
The cause of this appears to be that the cuttings not only suffer from : 
excess of damp, but the soil when watered in the usual way after the : 
cuttings are placed in the pots, by its expansion and adhesion from the. 
action of the water, the particles of soil are forced far too close together. 
to be beneficial to the development of roots. With young woods, our 
loss in it has not averaged three per cent. In removing the cuttings: 
from the stock-plants, one or two pairs of leaves or buds should, if pos-: 
sible, be left between the plant and the part cut. This is done in order, 
not to decrease the succeeding supplies of young wood, which would be _ 
the case if the cut was made close to the parent stem. Another cit) 
cumstance very necessary to be attended to in order to ensure success) | 
is to be careful to place each cutting as it is made into a pot, with the 
eut end on a dry piece of brick. This must be attended to, because: - 
when the cut is made the sap begins to flow, and if not immediately. 
absorbed by the brick, causes mildew and rot. . When the cuttings aré! 
‘placed in the cases, they are eee to as much light as they can bear: 
without flagging. ü 
7** In December, 1860, it occurred to me- that the plants could. lie sah 
pulos cg Nie 
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