THX ALMOND ] 307 



dry too soon. When germination is completed it is not 

 necessary to go on watering, but of course if watered 

 occasionally the seedlings will continue to grow all the 

 summer and will be fit for budding when they are hardly 

 more than a year old. 



The almond throws up suckers sometimes at a con- 

 siderable distance from the stem. These suckers can be 

 transplanted in December and are often made use of for 

 the purpose of propagation, and it they are strong enough 

 they can be budded or grafted in the following year. In 

 order to obtain suckers it is only necessary to expose or 

 cut a few roots in autumn, and as a rule the exposed or 

 wounded parts will throw up suckers in the following 

 January or February. These suckers should be earthed 

 up and encouraged to form rootlets, so that when trans- 

 planted they may stand a better chance of success. 

 Cuttings of the roots about 2 c. m. in thickness and 

 about 20 c. m. in length, with or without rootlets, will 

 strike root readily and throw up strong suckers if planted 

 in well manured soil in a cool situation. Gardeners who 

 are in a hurry to obtain stock without much trouble may 

 sever a few roots in November or early in December, 

 pulling up the farther end close to the surface of the 

 ground or just above it, where the severed end will 

 throw up suckers early in spring and become an indepen- 

 dent plant. The severed end of the root may be grafted 

 in the course of the same winter, or budded in the 

 following spring. 



The branches of the almond may be layered in 

 January or February, but they are rather slow to root. 

 Cuttings made of old wood, about the thickness of a lead 

 pencil and 20 c. m. in length root well if planted in 

 December or January in a cool place and kept well moist 

 for two or three months, but the plants obtained from 

 layers or cuttings of branches generally make slow 

 growth, as compared with plants raised from seed or 

 suckers. 



