CH. IV 



NURSERIES 



147 





Fig. 47. 



means of a pot split in two, or by a box, or by matting 



(Fig. 47). Here, again, the development of adventitious 



roots is encouraged, either by 



tying a ligament over the place 



where they are intended to come, 



or by removal of a ring of bark, 



or by cutting in on one side. 



The drawback of this method is 



that the soil is very apt to dry 



quickly, and that therefore it has 



to be constantly watered, either 



by hand or by suspending above 



it a pot of water with a small 



hole, or provided with a syphon, 



which will keep up a constant 



supply of moisture. 



A method preferable to that 

 of raising bamboos from cuttings is that of propagation 

 from rhizomes. Seed is not always available, as the 

 clumps only flower after intervals of several years, some- 

 times thirty to fifty. Bamboos raised from seed also take 

 more years to come to exploitability than those raised 

 from rhizomes. In this case rhizomes from a bamboo 

 clump are removed, each with its culm, and put bodily 

 into the ground. Those from young clumps are the best. 

 If the culm is fully developed it is necessary to cut it back, 

 leaving only three or four internodes above the ground. 



The schooling of root-suckers in a nursery is not, as 

 a rule, advisable in hot countries where fungoid diseases 

 easily enter into the plant through the wound, or white 

 ants attack them. Still, on occasions where seedlings 

 may run short they may be used, but they are almost as 

 likely to grow successfully if put out straight into the 

 field. 



Seedlings are sometimes taken from the forest and 

 either put straight into the field or schooled in nursery- 

 lines. They should be taken when still small, as their 

 root-system is apt to develop irregularly in the forest 

 and to get damaged by lifting. 



