146 



THE PRACTICAL GARDEN -BOOK 



A layer 



Layers are parts (usually stems) of plants laid 



down on the earth while still attached to the parent, with 

 the expectation that they will take root and can then be 

 separated as independent plants. All 

 vine -like plants can be propagated read- 

 ily by means of Layers ; so can most soft- 

 wooded plants, as willows, maples, cur- 

 rants, etc. It is usual to put down the 

 branches in the fall. In a year they 



should be ready to be severed 



from the parent. They may also 



be made in spring, before growth 



starts. See that the layered part 



rests in moist earth. Usually roots 



arise more freely if the shoot is cracked or notched at 



the buried point. The Layer may be held down by a 

 forked stick ("pegged down"), or 

 by a stone or clod. See that the 

 shoot does not throw up suckers 

 several layers from one vine behind the layered part. 



Leek. This belongs to the onion family, and is 

 used mostly as flavoring for soups. Well grown Leeks have 

 a very agreeable and not very strong onion flavor. Leek is of 

 the easiest culture, and is usually grown as a second crop, to 

 follow beets, early peas, and other early stuff. The seed 

 should be sown in a seed-bed in April or early May and 

 the seedlings planted out in the garden in July, in rows 2 

 feet apart, the plants being 6 inches apart in the rows. The 

 plants should be set deep if the neck or lower part of the 

 leaves is to be used in a blanched condition. The soil may 

 be drawn towards the plants in hoeing, to further the 

 blanching. Being very hardy, the plants may be dug in 

 late fall, and stored in the same manner as celery, in 

 trenches or in a cool root-cellar. One ounce of seed to 300 

 feet of drill. 



