PROPAGATING TREES AND SHRUBS. 



if boxes, say, 24 in. by 14 in. by 5 in., are made just to suit 

 the dimensions of the frames, a great number of young 

 plants, cuttings, and seeds of the less common kinds will 

 find a beneficial protection. The boxes should be made of 

 stout wood, and have six holes bored in the bottom of each, 

 so that excess water may readily pass away. Before planting 

 these, fill each with a mixture of half sand, half soil, broken 

 finely down, the cuttings being inserted in small holes made 

 by a sharp-pointed stick. A thin coating of sand placed on 

 the surface will greatly facilitate the process of rooting. 

 Cuttings of coniferous trees should have 2 in. of ripened 

 wood attached to them, and be inserted 4 in. deep in the 

 ground ; while, for most others, the cuttings may be 8 in. 

 long, 3 in. being inserted in the soil. 



(3.) From Layers. For increasing game coverts, shrub- 

 beries, or some of those trees and shrubs that cannot well 

 and speedily be raised from cuttings or seed, layering will be 

 found a convenient and cheap method. There are several 

 other advantages too, as no protection of any kind is 

 necessary, and the risk of loss is reduced to a minimum. It 

 is, however, generally resorted to as a means of increasing such 

 plants as cannot readily be raised from cuttings, and applies 

 with greatest force to the rhododendrons and azaleas, the 

 magnolias, coniferae of various kinds, and several species of 

 our hardy deciduous trees. 



The operation of layering is very simple, and consists 

 merely in bending down the outer branch of a tree or shrub 

 and bringing, it in contact with the soil, it being there held 

 in position by means of a hooked peg. Before fastening the 

 layer with the peg, it is well, however, to remove a portion 

 of the bark from that part of the layer that is to be brought 

 in contact with the ground, this arresting the flow of sap 

 and hastening the formation of roots. The soil beneath the 

 tree or shrub should be first loosened up, and, if found hard 

 and stiff, a small quantity of sand and leaf soil might with 

 advantage be added. The same principle is carried out in 

 all kinds of layering, but the position of the plant will alter 

 the method of bending over and bringing in contact with the 

 soil. In the case of layering coniferae it is not only necessary 



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