PEOPAOATION.] 



PRACTICE OF HOETICULTUEE. 



[layers, etc. 



upper part of the roots of herbaceous 

 plants, and may be readily seen in the 

 auricula, or in under-shrubs, as the thyme. 

 Wlien the lower part, from which the roots 

 DPoceed, has acquired a comparatively firm 

 texture, or begun to ripen, the shoot sought 

 is to be slipped or drawn from the parent 

 plant, so far as to take with it a claw of the 

 old wood stem, or root. As this claw is 

 usually ragged in its edges, it is to be made 

 smooth by means of a sharp knife, and the slip 

 then planted in a congenial soil. It should 

 be kept in shade until it strikes root afresh, or 

 a!)i)ear3 to have recovered from the effects of 

 its separation from the parent plant. Propa- 

 gating by offsets is, strictly speaking, appli- 

 cable only to young radical bulbs, which, 

 when taken from the parent roots, are only 

 termed offsets. 



PROPAGATING BY LAYERS. 

 A layer is a branch bent into the earth, and 

 luxlf cut through at the bend, the free portion of 

 the wound being called a tong.e. It is, n 

 fact, a cutting only partially separated from 

 its parent. Dr. Lindley, in his celebrated 

 work on the Theory and Fractice of Horti- 

 culture, informs us, that the object of the 

 gardener is to induce the layer to send forth 

 roots into the earth at the tongue. " With 

 this view he twists the shoot half round, so as 

 to injure the wood vessels ; he heads it back 

 so that only a bud or two appears above 

 ground ; and, when much nicety is requisite, 

 he places a handful of silver sand round the 

 tongued part ; then, pressing the earth down, 

 so as to secure the layer, he leaves it without 

 furtlier care. The intention of both tongue- 

 ing and twisting is, to prevent the return of 

 sap from the layer into the main stem, while a 

 small quantity is allow^ed to rise out of the 

 latter into the former; the effect of this being 

 to compel the returning sap to organise it- 

 self externally as roots, instead of passing 

 downwards below the bark as wood. The 

 bending back is to assist in this object, by 

 preventing the expenditure of sarp in the for- 

 nration, or rather completion, of leaves ; and 

 the silver sand is to secure the drainage so 

 necessary to cuttings." L;\yering is practised 

 iu the case of roses and other shrubs, which 

 do not strike so readily by cuttings. It is a 

 944 



matter of no importance as to how the layer- 

 ing is effected. It may, therefore, be varied 

 according to circumstances. 



PROPAGATING BY BTj DOING AND 

 GRAFTING. 



These operations, says Dr. Lindley, consist 

 in causing an eye or a cutting of one plant to 

 grow upon some other plant, so that the two, 

 by forming an organic union, become a new 

 and compound individual. The eye, in these 

 cases, takes the name of bud ; the cutting is 

 called a scion ; and the plant, upon which 

 they are made to grow, is named a stock. 

 Propagation by eyes aud cuttings is, there- 

 fore, the same as budding and grafting, with 

 this important difference — that, in the one 

 case, the fragments of a plant are made to 

 strike root into the organic soil, and to grow 

 on their own bottom, as the saying is ; while, 

 in the other, they adhere permanently to 

 living organic matter- In like manner, the 

 operation of in-arching, or causing the branch 

 of one plant to remain attached to its parent, 

 and, at the same time, to grow upon the 

 branch of another tree, is analogous to layer- 

 ing. 



The object of these operations is to effect 

 many purposes. Plants, such as the apple 

 aud the pear, will bud or graft easily ; but 

 they are both difScult to strike from cuttings. 

 There are many other plants of a similar consti- 

 tution. It would appear, that the species which 

 are naturally delicate, become strong when 

 grafted on robust stocks. The result of this 

 is a greater abundance of fruits and flowers. 

 "Thus, the more delicate kinds of vines pro- 

 duce larger and finer grapes when worked 

 upon such vigorous sorts as the Syrian and 

 Nice. The double yellow rose, which so 

 seldom opens its flowers, and which will not 

 grow at all iu many situations, is said to 

 blossom abundantly, and grow freely, when 

 worked upon the common China rose. One 

 plant may be made to bear a different variety 

 upon every branch, as has been seen with 

 pelargoniums, fuchsias, and cacti. The pecu- 

 liar qualities of some plants can only be pre- 

 served by working. This is especially the case 

 with certain kinds of variegated roses, which 

 retain their gay markings when budded, 

 but become plain if left to their own modes 



