THE JOYOUS ART OF GARDENING 



Potting rooted cuttings 



human being does a cut heal readily unless it is clean and made 

 with a sharp knife. 



PUTTING THEM IN THE SAND 



The sand-pot or cutting-bench was ready first. Now the 

 cuttings are ready. If you are planting a good many in a cut- 

 ting-bench take a stick, rule a 

 line from the back of the bench 

 to the front; make a little 

 trench about two inches deep. 

 Then, beginning at the back, 

 take a cutting in the left hand, a 

 stick (a pot-label or something 

 of the sort) in the right, and 

 "plant" the infants, setting them a little obliquely and about 

 two inches apart. Hold the plant in position, then push in 

 the sand well about the stem as carefully as if it were a seed- 

 ling, and make firm with the fingers. Then make the next 

 row about two inches from the first. Never push a cutting 

 into the sand as if it were a skewer being thrust into a roast, 

 not even if it does look like a little stick. This may bruise 

 the end from which the roots start. Gardeners never for- 

 get that plants are alive, even if they don't look it. When 



planting is done, water well 

 with a fine spray and keep the 

 cuttings shaded for some days, 

 either by laying newspapers over 

 them, or, if they are in the 

 cold-frame, by using a shade of 

 lath. Cuttings should never be 

 allowed to "dry out," neither should they be kept too wet, 

 or they will incur the other cause of infant mortality, "damp- 



172 



Right depth in sand 



