86 



MY GARDEN. 



abundance of roots were produced. I am now wrapping a piece of 

 the waste edge of flannel round active shoots, and then encircling the 

 whole with a piece of sheet india-rubber, leaving the upper part open 

 to be watered every day. In both of the above cases I have strangulated 

 the shoot, below the part operated on, with a tight copper wire, to 

 stop the descending sap. But further experience is required before 

 the latter processes can be recommended. 



Sometimes we can obtain a plant from a root. The roots of the 

 root- work in my ferneries occasionally grow (fig. 106). Although this 

 is not a usual mode of multiplication, yet it may be at times 

 employed. The roots of a fig-tree often sprout. 



FIG. 107. Propagation by leaves. 



FIG. 108. Cuttings (Pink and Geranium). 



We frequently propagate by leaves (fig. 107). The Hoy a carnosa 

 may be propagated from a leaf. A leaf of a Gloxinia, if pegged on 

 the ground, would form many buds and give rise to as many plants, and 

 every plant would be identical in character with that of the parent 

 plant. Leaves of Echeveria placed in a pot of sand would also grow. 



We multiply many plants by cuttings, such as pinks, geraniums, 

 tea-roses, poplar-trees, and cucumber plants. We cut them at a joint 

 (fig. 1 08), or slip a shoot off the parent stem, as at such a point there 

 appear to be many dormant buds capable of becoming roots. The 

 cuttings are then inserted into a pot of sand, or, what is better, into 

 cocoa-nut refuse. In this material, kept moist and aided by gentle 

 warmth, a geranium cutting will make a good plant in two weeks. 

 Cuttings of poplars or laurels are inserted three or four inches in the 



