1 6 THE HOME FLORIST. 



removed, and that the base be cut away with a sharp knife. Cuttings of some plants will callus 

 and form roots at the base, no matter whether it be just below 

 a leaf joint or not, while others seem to root best from the leaf 

 joints, and these should accordingly be cut off just below. It 

 would be best, perhaps, for amateurs to cut all below a joint, as 

 with limited experience they have little opportunity for ascertaining 

 which varieties do, and which do not, require it. Fig. 17 repre- 

 sents a Geranium shoot as taken from the plant, and also a cutting 

 ready for striking made from it. A point below the joint of the 



fourth leaf, counting from above, was found in suitable condition 



for the lower part of the cutting, and here the cut was made close 

 J? h d C t U P to ^ e J omt - ^ n e fourth leaf was removed, and also parts of 

 */' . 1 ^ nc ^ n ~ the largest remaining leaves were cut away to admit air and light 

 to the cutting, which is especially necessary where many are 



put in close together ; this cutting away the tips is well with all varieties having large leaves, 

 as it also prevents an unnecessary absorption of moisture from the material in which the cutting 

 is placed to root. 



Clean sand is the material usually preferred in which to strike cuttings. Whether placed in 

 a propagating house where, in cool or cold weather, the sand may be heated from the bottom, 

 to be fifteen degrees warmer than the air in the house, or in a box or pan in the dwelling or 

 garden, it should be about three inches deep, and be underlaid by broken pots or other material 

 to allow for the escape of an excess of water which it may chance to receive occasionally. 

 According to their size, cuttings may be put into the sand at various depths and distances apart, 

 but seldom deeper than an inch for long-jointed cuttings, or less than a third or half inch for 

 small ones, and at such a distance that the leaf points of the different ones just touch each other; 

 water thoroughly when the cuttings are first set, and then daily or every other day as they require 

 it, only guarding against allowing the surface to become dry. A bright, sunny place in the 

 window, where some air can be admitted, is the best place for the cutting box, but whenever 

 the sun shine,s, shade them by laying a paper over them. The "saucer" system of propagating 

 plants is a very excellent one for amateurs to practice. It consists of placing the cuttings very 

 close together in a water-tight saucer or dish containing several inches of sand, and then keeping 

 the sand thoroughly saturated with water until the cuttings are rooted. There is not the least 

 necessity of shading the cuttings from the sun, and the saucers may be keep constantly in its 

 full glare, provided sufficient water is at all times present. 



From one to three or four weeks is the required time for cuttings to root, depending some- 

 what upon the condition of the cutting and treatment received, but principally upon the differ- 

 ence in kinds, some rooting much sooner than others. It is better to pot them off as soon as 

 the roots are a fourth or even an eighth of an inch long, than to wait until they become an 

 inch or two long, which endangers their being broken off; when it is supposed that nearly 

 sufficient time has ensued for them to root, their state may be ascertained by drawing one out 

 for examination, which can be replaced again. Callusing always directly precedes the forma- 

 tion of roots ; this is an irregular growth which forms upon the base or along the side of a 

 cutting, and its presence is a healthy sign that roots will soon appear. After the cuttings 

 have been potted off, much the same care should be given them, as regards shading and wa- 

 tering, as they received in the cutting bed, for a week, or until the roots have started into 

 growth in the soil. Never put the most common plant in a dirty pot. Never fill a pot so 

 full of soil but that it may receive and hold water enough to go through ; every pot should 

 have half an inch of vacancy above the soil. A frost which could not reach the roots of a pot 

 plant that is plunged in earth to the rim, may destroy all the fibres of even a hardy one if the 

 pot be exposed. 



Some plants, such as Carnations, Roses and many of the hardy shrubs, are best propagated 

 by layering, especially if there is no convenience of a good greenhouse propagating bed at hand. 

 Layering consists in bending and fastening a growing branch into 

 a slight depression at the side of the plant, covering a portion 

 of it from which it is to throw roots, and allowing the growing 

 extremity to extend out of the soil to form a new plant. In 

 preparing the layer, at the lowest point of the bend an oblique 

 cut is made from the under side, about half or two-thirds way 

 through the branch. This is done for the purpose of preventing 

 the free return of the sap to the plant, which greatly promotes 

 the formation of roots. Fig. 18 represents a Carnation branch 

 prepared for layering. To keep a layer firmly in its place it 

 should be pegged down as shown in the cut. A small bit of 



& ,j? T ,<,;*, ti,* r* v > r, wood or other substance should also be inserted in the cut to 

 Fig. 18. La y* r f the Carna ' keep it open that it may not grow together. The separation 

 from the parent plant is not effected till the layer is sufficiently 



provided with roots, which will usually be in from six to twelve weeks, although layers of some 

 plants require a year or two to become rooted, but these are hardly in the line of plants which 

 amateurs propagate. 



