PLANT PROPAGATION 47 



A layer of packing material at least two inches thick should entirely 

 surround the cuttings. Store in a cool cellar where they will not 

 freeze, or bury them out of doors in a well-drained soil. 



In the spring the cuttings should be planted in well-prepared soil, 

 standing the cuttings on end and packing the soil firmly against them. 

 Only the top buds should be aboveground. After one season's growth 

 the vines may be transplanted to their permanent location. 



10. Softwood cuttings. Softwood cuttings, such as geraniums and 

 coleuses, root best in moist sand. At first, keep the cutting box in a 

 shaded place, at a temperature not below 40 or 50 degrees F., and 

 preferably about 70 degrees. Cut the plant stems into pieces three 

 and one-half inches long. Trim off all leaves except one or two at the 

 top of the cutting. Plant four inches deep. Shade from the sun for a 

 few days with old papers. In a week or ten days carefully dig up. If 

 not rooted, plant in the sand again. The stems with roots an inch 

 long should be set in two-inch flower pots in very loose, rich, sandy 

 soil. If the schoolroom is not kept above freezing at night, the cut- 

 tings may be grown in a simple wooden plant box, heated with a 

 common oil lamp. 



11. Apple root-grafts. In the fall or winter mix apple seeds with 

 moist sand in a box. Place the open box on the ground on the shady 

 side of a building and let it remain out all winter. In very early spring, 

 before the seeds begin to sprout, they should be planted, sand and all, 

 in a deep, fertile garden soil. Cover an inch deep or less. Cultivate 

 through the summer. In autumn, after a heavy frost has caused the 

 leaves to fall, dig up the seedlings with the entire tap root. Store in 

 a cool cellar in green sawdust. In early November collect from apple 

 trees of suitable varieties three times as many scions as there are seed- 

 ling roots. Select only twigs that grow on the ends of the limbs. This 

 is the wood that grew the previous summer. Well-matured water 

 sprouts that grow up in the tree will do. The scions must be six or 

 seven inches long. Pack in green sawdust. In January or February 

 graft the scions on the seedling roots. Cut the roots into pieces 

 three and one-half inches long. With a sharp knife slope the upper 

 end of each piece. On the face of the cut, split the piece down for an 

 inch from the end to form the tongue. On the base of each scion 

 make a sloping cut and tongue, exactly as on the roots. Fit the scions 

 and the roots together by causing the tongues to interlock. The 

 cambiums must be in contact on at least one side. Wrap securely with 



