8o 



REARING PLANTS FROM BUDS 



Green Cuttings. Most plants can be reared from so- 

 called green cuttings. (Figure 38.) These are made 

 from a tender part of the stem, and each one has a leaf or 

 a part of a leaf attached. The leaf is left on to prepare 

 food for the growth of roots. The cuttings are com- 

 monly planted in a greenhouse bed formed of clean, rather 

 coarse sand that is kept wet. The sand is usually kept a 



FIG. 37.- Rooted 

 cutting. 



FIG. 38. a. Cutting of chrysanthemum, 

 b. Rooted cutting of coleus. (Both after Bailey.) 



little warmer than the air above it by heating pipes below 

 the. bed. The cuttings are shaded when the sun shines. 

 After roots form, the little plants are potted in small flower 

 pots. Green cuttings of many plants will form roots in 

 a saucer of coarse sand, in a sunny window, if the pores 

 in the sand are kept filled with clean water. 



Propagation by Grafting. A third way of rearing 

 plants from buds is by grafting. This is chiefly used to 

 cause fruit trees to bear a better variety of fruit. If a 



