PROPAGATION I5Y INARCHING. 55 



almost any point on the bark, but the rule is that most of 

 our cultivated woody plants root with greatest certainty at 

 the base of a bud. This is specially true of pithy plants 

 like the elder, which are filled at the nodes with starchy 

 cells. In preparing cuttings of the grape and other species 

 with varying space between the nodes the length of 

 cuttings cannot well be uniform. The usual grape-cutting 

 has three eyes, as shown in Fig. 26. But the internodes 

 are often longer, when only two buds are used. 



58. Fall-planting of Cuttings. The cuttings are kept 

 moist until planted. In fall-planting of cuttings of hardy 

 trees and shrubs it is found best to plant on a shouldered 

 trench, as shown at Fig. 15. In filling in, when the earth 

 is not too moist, the most successful propagators use a 

 pounder, pressing the dirt tightly on the cuttings at the 

 base, filling above with mellow earth. 



Prior to severe freezing the line of the nursery rows is 

 covered with coarse manure, half-rotted straw, or other 

 litter not liable to blow off, to prevent heaving out by 

 frost as spring approaches at the North, and to prevent 

 baking and too rapid evaporation at the South. In early 

 spring the mulching is removed, and as the buds begin to 

 start the surface should be raked with a pronged hoe to 

 prevent hardening and baking. 



59. Some Reasons for Fall-planting. With many of our 

 shrubs and trees considerable time is essential to prepare 

 cuttings for rooting. When planted in the fall the process 

 of callusing and final rooting goes on at a lower tempera- 

 ture than leaves or bud-starting require. Some species, 

 such as the currant and willow, will grow readily from 

 cuttings planted in the spring, but even these will make 

 far more growth the next season if planted in the fall. 

 Long experience has shown that best results would follow 

 if all woody cuttings could be planted in the fall. But in 



