86 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 



to a foot, according to circumstances. When the cuttings 

 are in the trench, the earth is partly filled in, and trod 

 firmly down with the foot, then the balance is filled in and 

 leveled up. 



Cuttings require particular attention in the way of 

 weeding and hoeing ; if weeds grow up thickly, and ap- 

 propriate the moisture of the ground, or if the surface be 

 allowed to crack, as it may, after rains, if not quite sandy, 

 they will either make a feeble growth or fail entirely. 

 The ground wants repeated stirring to keep it friable and 

 perfectly free from weeds. 



Section 2, — Propagation by Layering. 



A layer is similar to a cutting, except that it is allowed 

 to remain in partial connection with the parent plant 

 until it has emitted roots. On this account, layers are 

 much more certain than cuttings. It is the surest and 

 most simple method of propagating the Grape and the 

 Gooseberry^ and also the Quince^ Paradise, and Doucin, 

 for stocks. It may be performed in the spring with shoots 

 of the previous year's growth, before vegetation has com- 

 menced, or in July and August, on wood of the same 

 season's growth. The ordinary mode of doing it is, first, 

 to spade over and prepare the ground in which the branch 

 is to be laid, in order to make it light and friable. The 

 branch is then brought down to the ground (fig. 63) ; an 

 incision is made at the base of bud, A^ through the bark 

 and pai-tly through the wood ; the knife is drawn upward, 

 splitting the shoot an inch or two in length, and the 

 branch is laid in the earth with the cut open, and kept 

 down by means of a crooked or hooked wooden peg, B. 

 The earth is then drawn in smoothly around, covering it 

 two or three inches deep ; and the end of the shoot that 

 is above ground is tied up to a stick, C, if it requires 



