108 THE RAISIN INDUSTRY. 



end before they take root. In dry and warm soils the cuttings may be 

 from twelve to eighteen inches long, or even longer if it is desirable to 

 bend them in a circular way in the holes in which they are to be 

 planted, or if the soil is very warm and dry, when it is of importance 

 that the cutting should reach the deeper moisture. A twelve or four- 

 teen inch cutting is probably an average size cutting, and one that will 

 answer most conditions, in case they are not previously known. 



A nurseryman, or any one who can give his cuttings as much atten- 

 tion as they require, can use even the very tips of the vines and make 

 them grow. But for general planting, especially direct in the field, 

 seldom more than one or two cuttings can be made from a branch. 

 The cutting should be cut immediately below an eye or joint. Such 

 cuttings grow better, are easier to plant and are less apt to dry out. 

 The more eyes a cutting contains the better is the cutting, as the roots 

 mostly form at the joints. Many make the cuttings with a heel of old 

 wood, but I do not believe such cuttings are in any way preferable to 

 those made of only one season's wood. The old wood does not grow 

 any better than young wood, generally not so well, and, besides, such 

 cuttings with heels are more difficult to plant and handle. When 

 the cuttings are made, they should at first be placed in small piles, with 

 the top ends all the same way, and as soon as possible afterwards tied 

 up in bundles, with at least two strings to every bundle. For tying, 

 any string will do, but split basket-willow twigs are probably the 

 strongest and least apt to root. Still any stout twine will answer the 

 purpose. From one hundred to two hundred cuttings may conven- 

 iently be put in each bundle, according to the size of the cuttings. 



The Care of Cuttings. After the cuttings are made and bundled, they 

 should be labeled with wooden labels and immediately taken to some 

 place where they can be heeled in. The lead-pencil is the best for 

 writing the names. The best place in which to heel in the cuttings is 

 on the north side of some large building, under an open shed or 

 under some large trees. In fact, any place which is partially shaded 

 and cool will do. If the bundles are to be used soon or shipped, 

 they might be placed on the wet ground, and only covered with sacks 

 or with straw, but, if they are to remain any longer time, they must be 

 placed in the ground and carefully covered. A trench should be dug 

 half the depth of the cutting, but slightly wider. The bundles are 

 placed in the trench upright, and after tLe trench is full the soil from 

 the new trench, parallel with the first one, is thrown on and around 

 the bundles so as to keep them moist. It is best not to keep the cuttings 

 too moist, and on no account should they be wet, as they will then begin 

 .to root rapidly, and when they are again removed these roots will break 

 or dry up to the great injury of the cutting. "If unavoidably the plant- 

 ing is delayed longer than expected, the bundles of cuttings may be 

 taken out and placed in dry air for a day or for a few hours, and then 

 replaced in the soil. This may be done several times without any injury 

 accruing to the cuttings, the only effect of the drying being to retard 

 their rooting and sprouting, but it should of course not be done after 

 they have once begun to callus or root. To place cuttings in water for 

 any length of time is nearly always injurious, and especially so if the 



