CHAP. IV.] 



CUTTINGS. 



67 



tings to strike readily, and amongst others mav 

 be mentioned the following mode of striking 

 cuttings of orange and lemon trees, which is 

 practised by the gardener at Luscombe Royal, 

 near Dawlish, in Devonshire. His plan is" to 

 fill a pot half full of drainage, and then to chip 

 a piece of smooth stone or tile round, so as to 

 fit the pot as nearly as possible. This is laid 

 upon the drainage, and the pot filled with pure 



Fig. 6. a cuttivg of the lemo.v-scevted verbeva (Aloysia 

 citriodora) , prepared for putting into the ground. 



sand, or sand with a very little loam. When 

 the cutting is inserted, care is taken to let the 

 flat part at the base rest upon the stone or tile, 

 without any sand intervening; in order, as he 

 says, to exclude the air from the pith of the 

 branch. The cuttings treated in this manner 

 scarcely ever fail, and generally have good roots 

 at the end of about six weeks: while orange 



f2 



