PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. 



33 



with separate roots. But single buds do not contain within 

 themselves sufficient nutriment to sustain vegetation till 

 roots are formed, without a considerable portion of the al- 

 burnum or sap-wood attached; hence the superior advan- 

 tage of taking an entire shoot or cutting. 



Propagation by cuttings is-the simplest mode of multiply- 

 ing a variety. It consists simply in the insertion of a shoot 

 of one year's growth into the soil ; the moisture of the soil 

 renews the supply of sap, the buds swell, the leaves expand, 

 and the descending juices expend themselves in the produc- 

 tion of new roots, which shoot downwards into the soil, fig. 

 9. Under ordinary circumstances, or in open 

 ground, this mode is only applicable to such 

 species as readily throw out roots, as the currant, 

 gooseberry, quince, and grape. Cuttings of the 

 apple and pear may be made to strike root, only 

 by confining the moisture under glass, while ar- 

 tificial heat is applied. The stories of empirics, 

 of making peach and apple shoots grow by stick- 

 ing them into potatoes, or covering with wax, 

 have no foundation in fact. 



It may be stated, in general, that cuttings 

 made of the ripened wood of such trees as have 

 a large pith, succeed best when taken off with 

 a portion of the preceding year's wood, such as 

 the gooseberry, currant, vine, fig, &c. With 

 large and strong shoots, the best success will re- 

 sult if cuttings are separated at the point be- 

 tween the one and two years' growth. When 

 small side-shoots are used, they should be cut 

 closely to the main stem, so as to secure the col- 

 lar or enlarged portion of the wood at the base of the branch. 

 Roots are more readily thrown out, if the cut is made imme- 

 dately below a bud. 



The best time to take off" cuttings, in ordinary cases, is in 

 autumn and winter. The autumn is preferable, by giving 

 time for the w r ounded section to cicatrise, preparing it for the 

 early emission of roots in spring. But where the soil is 

 heavy or liable to heave by frost, or where the cuttings are 

 of tender trees, they should be kept in damp mould in a cel- 

 lar, to be planted as soon as the frost disappears from the 



Fig. 9. 



