204 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



with it to carry off superfluous water. The bed should be 

 made quite firm and level and surfaced with silver sand. 

 Dibble the cuttings in straight rows down the frame, water 

 lightly overhead about every second or third day, and shield 

 from the sun. The latter arrangement is specially recom- 

 mended for such Conifers as Cupressus, Thujas, Retinosporas, 

 and Biotas, but these should not be put in until about the 

 first week in September, as the wood is rather too soft before 

 that time. Under such treatment the writer has succeeded in 

 striking about ninety-five per cent, of cuttings of the Conifers 

 named above and those of similar character. Whenever 

 terminal shoots for cuttings can be procured they should be 

 used, as they make the most shapely plants. Such trees as 

 Araucaria excelsa and Cunninghamia sinensis are not satisfac- 

 tory generally unless the cuttings are taken from the principal 

 growths. 



Hollies, Olearia Haastti, Veronicas, and Skimmias root 

 readily in cold frames. There are, however, certain sorts of 

 trees and shrubs which are by no means easy to increase by 

 cuttings at any time, and it may perhaps be just as well to 

 mention as illustration the Chimonanthus fragrans (Winter 

 Sweet). Plants of the Chimonanthus have been raised from 

 cuttings, and the writer once succeeded in raising a plant, 

 but although it threw out roots it made very little growth 

 and eventually died. It was treated thus : A small twig was 

 taken off during the summer with a bit of the old wood 

 adhering to it, inserted in a small pot in moist soil, plunged 

 in a close (not hot) case, and sprinkled overhead occasion- 

 ally with lukewarm water. 



Dibbles. Box and Yew make admirable dibbles for in- 

 serting the cuttings in the soil, as the wood is very durable 

 and does not require constant paring like that of a softer 

 nature. The knife used for cutting should always be sharp, 

 as cuttings made with a knife having a good edge, throw out 

 roots more freely, and in less time than those made with a 

 blunt one. 



Rooting Cuttings in the Open Border. This is a form of pro- 

 pagation adopted in autumn with certain sorts of vigorous 

 growing shrubs and trees, of which the following serve as 

 examples : Laurels, Roses, Willows, Tamarisk, Privet, Phila- 

 delphuses, Flowering Currants, and Cornus. The cuttings may 

 vary in length from ten inches to eighteen inches according 

 to the vigour of individual kinds. They should be planted in 

 rows a foot or so apart, allowing two or more inches between 

 each cutting in the rows. The bed or border should be care- 

 fully prepared, the cuttings planted in a perpendicular (not 



