OX PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. 221 



size of the cutting, its leaves (either on the cutting, or to be produced 

 from its buds), the season of the year, the length of time they require 

 to root, and other circumstances. The object is to root as many cut- 

 tings as possible in a limited space, and consequently to plant them 

 as close together as can be done without incurring the risk of rotting 

 or damping them off. All cuttings whatever that are planted with the 

 leaves on, require to be immediately well watered, in order to settle 

 the soil about them; and all those that are in a growing succulent 

 state, and are at all difficult to strike, should be immediately covered 

 with a hand-glass or bell-glass ; for, though the cutting receives as 

 much moisture through the face of the cut as it loses in ordinary cir- 

 cumstances by evaporation, yet no sooner is it placed in very dry air 

 or in a draught, or exposed to the sun's rays, than a disproportion 

 takes place between the demand and supply. 



After Treatment of Cuttings.' The hardiest sorts in the open garden, 

 such as gooseberries, &c., require no particular treatment whatever, 

 and need not even be placed in a shady situation ; but those which root 

 less freely, such as box, holly, juniper, &c., succeed best when planted 

 in a shady border in a sandy soil. Cuttings planted in pots or boxes 

 require to be placed not only in a shady situation, but for the most 

 part under glass, in order to diminish evaporation from the soil as 

 well as from the cuttings. All the more delicate sorts of cuttings, 

 such as heaths, and most house plants, require to be covered with a 

 bell-glass, and shaded during bright sunshine. All cuttings with the 

 leaves on, require to be looked over frequently, supplied with water 

 when it is required, and such leaves as decay taken off, as well as any 

 dead or dying cuttings removed. 



The most proper form of bell-glass for covering cuttings is that which 

 gradually tapers from the base to the top, as from glasses of this shape 

 the moisture, which adheres to the inside in the form of drops, runs 

 gradually off, without the dropping so injurious to cuttings. This dis- 

 advantage is found in all other forms more or less, such as those that 

 are round at the top, or cylindrical, with the top bluntly truncated. 

 The enclosed air under the glasses will soon lose its oxygen through 

 the respiring process of the plants within, and also be vitiated by other 

 exhalations, and if it is not changed, it generates mouldiness, and the 

 cuttings lose their fresh appearance. For this reason the glasses, if 

 possible, should be daily ventilated and wiped ; or, what is still better, 

 as it will entirely renew the air, dipped in a vessel of cold water, and 

 well shaken before being put on again, so that too many drops of 

 water may not remain on the glass. The cloche, or large bell-glass, of 

 the French market-gardeners, is very much used indoors by the Con- 

 tinental propagators, and might be advantageously used in this country. 



Watering cuttings is an operation requiring great care and judg- 

 ment. The object is, to maintain as uniform a degree of moisture in 

 the soil as possible, without occasioning mouldiness on its surface, or 

 rotting the leaves, hence the water is in some cases poured on the soil 

 in such a manner as not to touch the leaves of the cuttings ; and in 

 others a reservoir of water is formed by placing a small pot in the centre 



