PROPAGATION 31 



Some growers, before inserting their cuttings, prefer 

 to dip them in an insecticide to rid them of any aphis or 

 other pest there may possibly be. A good insecticide 

 may be made by dissolving 2 ozs. of soft soap in a 

 gallon of water. A vessel containing this solution may 

 then be placed handy, and the heads of the cuttings 

 dipped therein previous to insertion. 



A dibber of much the same kind as that recommended 

 for planting out seedlings that is, a stick about 8 to lo 

 inches long and an inch in diameter with a neatly pointed 

 end should be requisitioned, and a batch of cuttings 

 having been prepared, we may at once proceed to put 

 them in. Care should be taken that a good sprinkling 

 of sand has been spread over the surface, as upon this 

 depends, to a very great extent, the speedy rooting of the 

 cuttings. 



A hole should be made with the dibber, bearing in 

 mind the length of the cutting to be inserted. The 

 base of this latter should rest on the bottom of the hole 

 so made. This is absolutely imperative, as will be seen 

 hereafter. The soil should then be pressed firmly down- 

 wards against the base of the cutting with the fingers 

 of the left hand and the dibber in the right, so that there 

 may be a proper adhesion of the soil. The compost 

 round about the cutting should then be neatly levelled. 



It is apparent that, if, when inserting the cutting, it is 

 not made to rest on the bottom of the hole made for its 

 reception, it will be unable to obtain any nutriment or 

 anything else from the soil, as it will be merely 

 suspended, and failure in rooting will come as a 

 consequence. 



A piece of wood, about 3 inches in width and as long 

 as the frame is wide, makes a capital guide, using it 

 both to keep the cuttings in a straight line and to allow 

 a sufficient distance between the rows. 



The required number of cuttings having been 



