18 Effective Farming 



touch the ground. As soon as the stolons have become rooted, 

 the new plant is ready to be transplanted. 



The chief method of propagating fruit plants is by division 

 artificially. The means employed are : hardwood stem cut- 

 ting, root cuttings, layers, grafts, and buds. 



Hardwood stem cuttings are made from the ripened wood of 

 the previous season's growth. Grapes, currants, gooseberries, 

 and cranberries are often propagated by means 

 of these stem cuttings. In Fig. 5 are shown 

 cuttings of the grape and in Fig. 6, cuttings 

 of the currant. Hardwood stem cuttings must 

 bear at least one bud and, unless the supply 

 of stock is limited, they are usually cut with 

 two or more buds. Three kinds of these 

 cuttings simple, heel, and mallet are used 

 in horticultural practice. A simple cutting 

 consists of a straight part of the shoot or 

 cane, as shown in Fig. 5 ; it is usually cut 

 off just below the lower bud, since roots 

 develop more readily than when more of the 

 internode is left below the bud. The roots 

 develop from adventitious buds. A heel cut- 

 ting is made in such a way that a small part 

 of the branch to which the stem is growing 

 remains attached to the cutting, as shown at 

 the right in Fig. 6 ; this forms what is known 

 as the heel. Obviously one cutting only can 

 FIG. 5. Simple cut- be made from the branch and this is a disad- 

 tmgs of the grape. vanta g e ^ especially if cutting-wood is scarce. 

 However, a heel cutting is somewhat easier to root than a 

 simple cutting. A mallet cutting is similar to a heel cutting, 

 except that the cuts in the parent branch both above and 

 below the attachment are made entirely through the branch, 

 as shown at the left in Fig. 6, thus leaving a section of the 

 parent branch attached to the cutting. . 



