THE VINE. ] 471 



and the vine Chasselas Cioutat which are old ac- 

 quaintances in our gardens, are chiefly propagated in 

 this manner, the rooted layers being sold in July with 

 their pretty bunches of small round white grapes already 

 half ripe. 



The Chinese Layer consists of a cane of new wood 

 which is entirely buried a few centimetres below the 

 surface of the ground, in a horizontal position or slightly 

 inclined downwards towards the tip. This operation is 

 best done in March, just when the buds are ' beginning 

 to swell, or a few days before, and is kept well moist to 

 favour the emission of roots along with the development 

 of the buds. Most of the buds under ground will grow 

 into shoots and many fibrous rootlets are formed from 

 the base of each shoot, so that in the following autumn 

 or winter when the shoots are taken up to be planted 

 elsewhere it will be found that every shoot has developed 

 into a nice plant (It. =barbatel!a). This is however only 

 a haphazard way of practising the Chinese layer. A more 

 satisfactory method requiring perhaps a little more 

 trouble consists in excavating a furrow 10 to 12 c.m. 

 deep, in April or May when the buds are already 

 pushing vigorously, the cane which it is proposed to 

 layer is extended along the furrow, and pegged down 

 by wooden pegs made of bifurcated twigs which are 

 always at hand or are easily obtained from the heap of 

 dry prunings. The layer is allowed to remain uncovered 

 tor two or three days, until all the growing shoots have 

 taken an upward direction, and then the soil is filled in, 

 and watered, keeping the soil well moist for several 

 weeks until all the nodes are well rooted. In the follow- 

 ing autumn or winter the layer is taken up, and the 

 rooted plants are separated from each other by a cut 

 close to the node. 



The Chinese method of layering is useful for the 

 propagation of those sorts which do not strike readily 



