ON PROP A GA T10N B Y CUTTINGS. 217 



moderately strong shoots will be found the best. Cuttings of growing 

 succulent wood have most active vitality, and strike root most quickly ; 

 but, from the unripened state of the wood, are most apt to die, and re- 

 quire to be kept more close and moist. There is danger in both 

 extremes, and both must be guarded against in such as are difficult to 

 strike. 



The time of taking off cuttings depends much on the nature of the 

 plant to be propagated. In the case of hardy deciduous trees and 

 shrubs, such as the gooseberry, poplar, &c., any period between the 

 tailing of the leaf in autumn and the swelling of the buds in spring, 

 will answer, but the autumn is preferable, because more time is given 

 for the cutting to accommodate itself to its new situation and circum- 

 stances before the growing season. This it does by cicatrizing the 

 wounded section, and thus preventing it from absorbing moisture in 

 excess when the growing season commences. If the cutting be not 

 taken off till spring, the buds on it will have been supplied with 

 moisture from the root, and the sudden cutting off of this supply will 

 materially check the growth of the buds. Cuttings of hardy evergreens 

 not difficult to strike, such as those of the box, laurel, &c., may be 

 taken off in the ripened wood in the autumn rather than in spring, for 

 the same reason as given in the case of deciduous cuttings of ripened 

 wood. Cuttings of house plants, whether deciduous or evergreen, 

 such as Fuchsia, Aloysia, Camellia, &c., may be taken off at whatever 

 season the wood ripens. 



The length of cuttings is not material to their rooting. One eye in 

 the ground and one out constitutes a cutting, and their length beyond 

 this is determined by the height and form of plant desired. 



The number of leaves which are left upon the cutting should be 

 determined by its character and treatment. If the cutting is succulent, 

 and has large leaves, one may suffice ; otherwise the whole of the 

 leaves may be left. The more that can be sustained without nagging, 

 the sooner will roots be formed ; hence the number of leaves left will 

 depend mostly upon the atmosphere in which the cuttings are placed. 

 Flagging must not be allowed, as the drooping leaves will drain the 

 sap out of the cutting, instead of nourishing it with fresh supplies of 

 food. The lower leaves of a cutting, when they can be kept on, 

 have more influence on the formation of roots than the upper ones, 

 because they expose a larger surface to the action of light; and 

 hence, when from their long petioles, or any other cause, they are not 

 likely to rot, they should always be kept on. The leaf on a level with 

 the base of the cutting is the most valuable of all, as it excites life at 

 the very point where all its energies are needed to iorm roots ; but 

 small and closely-set leaves, such as those of Erica, Brunia, &c., when 

 covered with soil, soon begin to rot, and endanger the cutting, and they 

 ought therefore to be taken off. This ought always to be done with 

 a very sharp-pointed pair of scissors, and the greatest possible care 

 should be taken not to lacerate the bark by the operation, or to 

 bruise the end of the cutting in cutting it across with a knife. The 

 cuttings of Pelargoniums, on the other hand, may be of any length, 



