SERPENTINE LAYERING. 



37 



may be placed upon it to hold it down ; or a crotched 

 stick may be thrust down over it, as in the "pegging 

 down" of propagators. 



The strongest plants are usually obtained by securing 

 only one plant from each shoot, and for this purpose the 

 earth should be applied only at one point, preferably over a 

 bud somewhere near the middle of the shoot. If the buds 

 are close together, all but the strongest one may be cut out. 



jo. Layered shoots. 



If more plants are desired, however, serpentine layering 

 may be practiced, as shown at A in Fig. 30. The shoot is 

 bent in an undulating fashion, and from every covered por- 

 tion roots will form and a plant may be obtained. The 

 continuously covered layer also possesses the advantage of 

 giving more than one plant, but the roots are apt to form so 

 continuously that definite and strong plants are rarely ob- 

 tained ; these rooted portions may be severed and treated 

 as cuttings, however, with good results. The grape is 

 sometimes propagated by serpentine layering. 



Stiff and hard-wooded plants do not often "strike" or 



