118 PRACTICAL FORESTRY 
is expensive. The simplest form of planting is by 
means of cuttings. This is one of the most important 
means of plant propagation to the horticulturist, be- 
cause of the ease with which valuable varieties may 
be increased. With the forester it is only of use in 
the case of the willows, poplars, mulberries, and a few 
others. A cutting is a detached portion of the ripened 
wood of the parent tree. Good cuttings are usually 
about a foot in length and from one-half to ome inch 
in diameter. These slips or cuttings should be placed 
slantingly in the ground with a small portion of the 
tip exposed. A good way to plant cuttings is to plow 
a furrow, place the cuttings carefully in a slanting 
position in the furrow, and then run a second furrow 
to close the first. In case this is not possible, they 
must be planted with a spade or grub-hoe, or if the 
soil is soft, placed in a slanting hole made with a dib- 
ble, and then pressed tight with the foot. In case the 
soil is moist enough, poplars and willows will grow 
luxuriantly in this way. In fact, euttage is the only 
way in which they are propagated, because of the diffi- 
culty of seedage. If the soil is not fairly fertile and 
moist it is necessary to place the cuttings in good moist 
soil first until they have developed roots, and then the 
following spring plant them where they are intended 
to remain permanently. The willow is extensively 
grown in this way for basket material. The Carolina 
