AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



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CUSHION PINK. See Silene acaulis. 

 CUSPIDABJA. Included under Tsenitis (which ). 

 CUSPIDATE. When a leaf, Ac., is suddenly nar- 

 rowed at the top, and then more or less prolonged into 

 an acumen or point. 



CUSSONIA (named after Peter Cusson, 1727-1785, 

 Jesuit and physician, a Professor of Botany in the Uni- 

 versity of Montpelier; his writings were principally on 

 umbelliferous plants). OED. Araliaceae. A genus con- 

 taining about a dozen species of greenhouse evergreen 

 shrubs, natives of Eastern tropical and Southern Africa 

 and the Mascarene Islands. Flowers greenish. Leaves 

 glabrous, petiolate, palmate, with five to nine one-nerved, 

 entire or lobed leaflets. Trunks thick, rather succulent. 

 For culture, see Argyreia. 



C. spicata (spikedX /- spirally disposed along the rachis of the 

 spike in five or sn series. 1. palmate ; leaflets petiolate, rariouslv 

 and acutely cut, often trifid at the apex. A. 6ft. to 10ft. Cape 

 of Good Hope, 1789. 



C. thyrsiflora (thyrse-flowered). JL racemose, pedicellate along 

 the rachis. L palmate; leaflets sessile, cuneiform, obtuse, trun 

 cate, tridentate. h. 6ft. to 12ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1796. 

 CUSTARD APPLE. See Anona. 

 CUTICLE. The outer pellicle of the epidermis. 

 CUTTING-IN. A term applied to the shortening of 

 branches in shrubs and trees. 



Cutting* continued. 



shoots that may be removed with a heel attached are often 

 to be preferred. Boots are formed, in the majority of 

 cases, at the node or joint only, and the incision should 



FIG. 575. SOFT-WOODKD CUTTIXO, VERBENA. 



be mad* immediately below. See Fig. 574. Some plants, 

 however, emit roots at any part of the stem that may 

 be of suitable texture, and these may be cut as shown at 

 Fig. 575. All Cuttings should be selected from healthy 

 plants, and all or the greater part of their leaves retained. 

 It is very important, when inserting, that the base should 

 be placed in contact with the soil ; and a layer of sand 

 ou the top tends to hold all firmly, until roots are 



FIG. 574. SOFT-WOODED COTTIUGS PREPARED TOR INSERTING, 



CUTTINGS. These are portions of a plant, usually 

 the shoots, that are entirely detached, and may, or may not, 

 be used for propagating purposes. A very large number of 

 plants are kept true to character, and rapidly increased, by 

 means of Cuttings. The perpetuation of distinct varieties 

 that may have been obtained from seed, or from fixed 

 sports, is often restricted to the same mode of propagation, 

 as seed from these can seldom be depended on to reproduce 

 the characters of the parent. Certain seasons and selected 

 Cuttings are necessary to insure success with many plants ; 

 but with others the season is a matter of little importance, 

 so long as other conditions are suitable. As a rule, these 

 conditions vary very considerably. Cuttings of most soft- 

 wooded plants require a higher temperature, and invariably 

 a much closer atmosphere, than that in which they grow 

 when established, to induce a speedy formation of roots, 

 and, in the meantime, prevent an undue evaporation of 

 moisture. Many hard-wooded exotics also require similar 

 treatment, but in a lesser degree ; while others that are 

 hardier, and inserted when the wood is firm and growth 

 inactive, require a longer time to form roots, and con- 

 sequently a steadier temperature. Soft-wooded plants, to 

 supply Cuttings in spring, should be placed in a little heat, 

 to cause active growth, before they are inserted. Those of 

 firmer growth are best when partially ripened, and side 



formed. Coniferas, and hardy deciduous trees and ehrnbs, 

 can generally be propagated by Cuttings. These are 



Fio. 576. HARD-WOODED CUTTISG, Eco.vmcs JAPONICCS. 

 best prepared from the terminal shoot of a branch, as re- 

 presented in Fisr. 576, and inserted in early autumn, when 



