HENDEESON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



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tings in this way, in this latitude, in the 

 months of June, July, or August, unless 

 with plants of a tropical nature. When 

 the cuttings are rooted, they should be 

 potted in small pots, and treated care- 

 fully by shading and watering for a few 

 days, as previously directed." 



Propagation by Layering. Although layer- 

 ing may be done with the ripened wood 

 of vines or shrubs of the growth of the 

 previous season, yet it is preferable to 

 use the shoot of the present year in its 

 half green state; for example, a Eose or 

 flowering shrub is pruned in the usual 

 way in spring; by June or July it will 

 have made strong shoots one, two, or 

 three feet in length from or near the base 

 of the plant. Take the shoot then in the 

 left hand, (after having stripped it of its 

 leaves for a few inches on each side of 

 where it is to be cut,) keep the fingers 

 under the shoot, and make a clean cut 

 on the upper part, an inch or so in length, 

 and to about half the thickness of the 

 shoot, then slightly twist the " tongue " 

 or cut part to one side. Having opened 

 a shallow trench, fasten the branch down 

 with a hooked peg, and cover with 

 earth. It is a good plan to place a flat 

 stone over the layer to prevent the soil 

 from drying out. This plan of cutting 

 the shoot on the upper side we have 

 never seen in illustrations showing the 

 manner of layering, it being usually 

 either on the side or under; but we have 

 found in practice that it is much the 

 safest plan, as the " tongue," when cut on 

 the top part of the shoot, has far less 

 chance to be broken off. 



Propagation by Layering in Pots is the pro- 

 cess of layering shoots or runners of 

 plants in pots, so that, when the root 

 forms in the pot, the plant can be de- 



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tached without injury to it, as the roots 

 are confined exclusively to the soil in the 

 pot. Layering plants in pots can be 

 done with Koses, vines, or shrubs of any 

 kind, with always more certainty of mak- 

 ing a plant quicker than by the ordinary 

 way of layering the shoot in the soil. This 

 system of propagating Strawberries has 

 been largely practiced during the past 

 ten years in the United States, and is 

 now a favorite method. For details, see 

 Strawberry, p. 221. 



Propagation by Layering in the Air. About 

 twenty years ago we published a method 

 of propagating Geraniums, that we be- 

 lieved originated with us, and which we 

 called, for want of a better term, " Lay- 

 ering in the Air." It consists in tongu- 

 ing the shoot to be used as a cutting 

 half through with a knife, as in the ordi- 

 nary layering; the shoot so treated formed 

 granulations, or " callus, " on the cut 

 surface, and was in a condition to form 

 roots immediately on being detached and 

 put into the earth. A year or two ago 

 we bethought ourselves of our long- 

 forgotten plan of " layering in the air," 

 but this time we improved upon the 

 former way of doing it. Instead of 

 tonguing the shoot to be used for a cut- 

 ting, as before, it was merely snapped 

 short off at a point where the condition 

 of the shoot or slip would make it hang 

 on to the plant by the merest shred of 

 bark. Slight as this strip of bark is, it is 

 sufficient to sustain the cutting, without 

 any material injury from wilting, until it 

 forms the " callus," or granulated condi- 

 tion, which precedes the formation of 

 roots. The cutting, or slip, may be de- 

 tached in from ten to twelve days after 

 it has been broken in the manner de- 

 scribed, and then potted in two or three 



