PROPAGATION OP ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 167 



The business of planting slips, cuttings, <fcc. of the tender 

 kinds into nursery pots, and the hardy kinds into borders, is 

 generally performed in Spring and Autumn ; there are r 

 however, some exceptions to this rule, which will be ex- 

 plained hereafter. See Calendar and Index. 



For the purpose of raising hardy flowering shrubs by 

 slips or cuttings, let a border be prepared in a shaded and 

 sheltered situation, by manuring and deep digging. Provide 

 plants about a foot long, and insert them into the ground, 

 full one-third of their length ; the rows may be about two 

 feet apart, and the plants nine inches from each other in the 

 rowd. Press the ground around the stems, and rake it 

 smooth. The after management of nursery beds made in 

 Spring, is to keep them watered in dry weather, also to hoe 

 them occasionally, and by Autumn the plants will be rooted. 



In cold climates, plantations made in Autumn, should 

 be protected by a covering of leaves, straw or litter, merely 

 sufficient to screen the plants from wind and the sun's rays 

 in time of freezing, the heat of the Sun being more destruc- 

 tive to vegetation in Winter than the cold weather. 



To increase flowering shrubs, rose bushes, or any other 

 plants by layers, dig the ground about the plants to be 

 operated on to a good depth ; then with a sharp knife cut 

 between two joints half through the stalk or branch, and turn- 

 ing the edge of the knife upwards, make a slit past the first 

 joint to the middle between it and the next above ; make a 

 hollow in the ground and insert the cut part from one to three 

 inches deep, according to the nature of the plant operated 

 on, keeping the branch perpendicular, and the slit open. 

 Each layer should be pegged down with a hooked stick, 

 made from small branches of trees, to keep it in its proper 

 position, as well as to prevent the cut part from uniting, 

 whence the roots form for the young plants. 



Budding, grafting, and inarching, is often practised on 

 shrubs, with a view to perpetuate improved varieties. Bud- 

 ding may be performed on roses of different descriptions, as 

 the White Moss, Unique, Tuscany, and other fine varieties : 

 upon such wild kinds as are of a strong habit. The best 

 time for performing the operation, is towards the end of July 



