REARING PLANTS FROM BUDS 



79 



branches are bent down and covered; sometimes the soil is 

 piled up around them. (Figure 35.) Branches thus 

 treated are called layers. It is better not to cover 

 the tips of the branches. In a few 

 weeks, roots will grow from near the buds 

 in the covered parts of the stems. The 

 stems can then be cut off below the roots 

 and be planted in a new place. The cur- 

 rant, gooseberry, grape, quince, and many 

 other plants, may be propagated, that is, 

 increased in number, in this way. 



Propagation by Cuttings. A second 

 way of rearing plants from buds is by cut- 

 tings. A cutting, which is a portion of a 

 stem having at least one healthy bud, is 

 planted in the soil. Roots may then grow 

 from the stem, or from the base of the bud, 

 while the bud expands into a leafy stem. 

 Cuttings made during fall, winter, or early 

 spring, are called dormant cuttings. (Fig- 

 ure 36.) The grape, currant, orange, 

 and many other shrubs, are propagated from 

 dormant cuttings. The potato is reared 

 from cuttings -of the tuber, which is a mod- 

 ified stem. Cuttings of woody plants may 



be made in the fall or spring, from wood 



FIG. 36. Cut- 

 that grew the summer before. They are tin s s - 



commonly planted in spring in mellow soil, up to their 

 top bud. (Figure 37.) Cuttings of some plants, es- 

 pecially in cold climates, are better made in the fall, then 

 stored in moist sand or soil, and planted in the spring. 



