70 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1891. 



will require from live to six weeks to properly form the roots. 

 When the perfectly developed plant is taken from the sand and 

 placed in a 2-inch, or thumb pot, so-called, these potted plants 

 are placed over heat again to cause growth as quickly as possi- 

 ble. Several weeks will be required to give the plant strength 

 to take care of itself, keeping it watered, meanwhile, and by the 

 first of June the little pot will be full of roots and the plant in 

 condition to transplant into the open ground, or (if intended to 

 be grown in pots) placed in the size larger, say 3 inches, and 

 gradually on to 4 or 5 inches. 



After our plant is put into the ground in June, care will be 

 necessary to keep the weeds down, and if the weather is dry, 

 frequent watering will be required for the first few weeks, and 

 hoeing at least once a week. At the end of the season our 

 plant is about one foot or more in height. 



If we intended to leave the plants in the ground for two 

 years, they would be planted in rows two feet apart to allow 

 room for drawing the soil about them in the fall for winter pro- 

 tection ; but if to be lifted for autumn potting, we should place 

 the rows nearer together, say 1^ feet apart for economy of room. 

 It will be seen from our description of a one-year-old plant that 

 the size is small, with very little fibrous root, consequently there 

 is considerable danger in transplanting that it may die ; a two 

 years old plant is better, while a three years old is far prefer- 

 able. It will be readily seen that the process of growing the 

 oton-root plant is very slow and expensive, and in commerce, we 

 seldom find a satisfactory size for the purpose. 



Another plan for striking own-root cuttings is to take them 

 off" in the autumn. Having decided about the quantity of cut- 

 tings which is wanted prepare a small frame of suitable size, 

 place it on firm ground, and on this put six or eight inches 

 of light soil with a plentiful addition of coarse sand. This 

 should be pressed very firmly, watered, and left to settle ; the 

 cuttings can then be prepared. Select well ripened shoots as 

 soft wood will generally die : these should be cut off at a joint ; 

 and some propagators prefer a shoot taken oif with a so-called 

 " heel," that is, a piece of the old wood of the shoot from where 

 the cutting is taken. The cuttings should be from five to six 



