CUTTA CE. 



55 



injury which might result to the parent plant from a severe win- 

 ter. They may be taken as early as August, or as 

 soon as the wood is mature, and be stripped of leaves. 

 Callusing can then take place in time to allow of fall 

 planting. Or the cuttings taken in early fall may be 

 planted immediately and be allowed to callus where 

 they stand. All fall cutting beds should be mulched 

 to prevent the heaving of the cuttings. As a rule, 

 however, hard-wood cuttings are buried on a sandy 

 knoll or are stored in moss, sand or sawdust in a cellar 

 until spring. (See page 50.) 



There is no general rule to govern the length of 

 of hard-wood cuttings. Most propagators prefer to 

 make them six to ten inches long, as this is a conven- 

 ient length to handle. Two buds are always to be 

 taken, one bud or one pair at the top and also at the 

 bottom, but in "short-jointed" plants more are ob- 

 tained Sometimes all but the top buds are removed 

 to prevent the appearance of too many shoots. Grape 

 cuttings are now commonly cut to two or three buds 

 (Fig. 43), two being the favorite number for most 

 varieties. (See Grape, Chapter VI.) Currant and 

 gooseberry cuttings (Fig. 49) usually bear from six to 

 ten buds. All long hard-wood cuttings are set perpen- 

 dicularly, or nearly so, and only one or two buds are 

 allowed to stand above the surface. 



When the stock is rare, cuttings are made of single 

 eyes or buds. This is particularly the case with the 

 grape (see Chapter VI), and currants and many other 

 plants are occasionally grown in the same manner. 

 Fig. 50 shows a single eye grape cutting. These cut- 

 tings, whatever the species, are commonly started 

 under glass with bottom heat, either upon a cutting 

 bench or in a hot-bed. The soil should be kept uni- 

 formly moist, and when the leaves appear the plants 

 should be frequently sprinkled. In from thirty to 



Fig. 49. 

 CUrrant 

 cutting. 



forty days the plants are ready to pot off. Single eye cuttings 



