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Growth of Thorns from Cuttings of the Roots* 

 By James Mease ^ m. d. 



Read April 12th, 1808. 



In the twenty third volume of the Transactions of 

 the London Society of Arts, Mr. Taylor of Moston, 

 near Manchester, has given an account of his success in 

 the propagation of thorns by cutting the roots into 

 lengths and planting them. In two years they became 

 as good thorns as the average of those he had purchased, 

 and planted at the time. The thorns were three 

 years old when he got them. In April 1802, he liad 

 occasion to move a fence, [hedge] from which he pro- 

 cured as many roots of thorns as made upwards of two 

 thousand cuttings, of Vv'hich he did not loose five in the 

 hundred. 



The method of raising the thorns from roots is as 

 follows. 



" Purchase the desired number of thorns, and when 

 three years old, take them up and trim the roots, from 

 each of which ten or twelve cuttings will be ob= 

 tained: plant these cuttings in rows half a yard asun- 

 der, and about four inches from each other in the 

 row. They ought to be about four inches long, and 

 planted with the top one fourth of an inch out of the 

 ground, and w^ell fastened, otherwise they will not 

 succeed so well. April is the best time to plant the 

 cuttings. The thick end must be planted upper- 

 most. The advantages of this mode are, first, in case 

 any one has raised from haws, a thorn with remarkably 



