PKOPAGATION BY SINGLE BUDS. 35 



cutting, but also the best material in which to grow 

 them. Some successful propagators use leaf-mold from 

 the woods, others loam, charcoal and loam, burnt clay, 

 etc., etc., but none of the materials have the least ad- 

 vantage over pure sand, in which to start the cuttings, 

 and a majority of propagators, if I do not mistake, use 

 pure sand in which to place the cuttings until they form 

 roots. It is not only the safest material for the inexperi- 

 enced propagator, but it is all that is required by cut- 

 tings, in the way of soil, until they are in a condition to 

 absorb food through their roots. Sometimes it is well 

 to place a little rich soil in the pots an inch or so below 

 the cuttings so that 

 when the roots reach 

 that depth they will 

 find nutriment to 

 sustain growth ; in 

 this case the repot- 

 ting may be deferred 

 longer than would 

 be safe without such 

 a precaution. This 

 is often done by those 

 who expect to have FIG - 9 - 



more work on hand than they can attend to at the 

 proper time. Circumstances will sometimes occur when 

 it is not convenient to start the cuttings in pots ; if so, 

 they may be put into shallow boxes or directly into the 

 frames, but when this is done, the plank used in mak- 

 ing the boxes or frames should be new ; if not, they 

 should be coated on the inside with ordinary water ce- 

 ment, mixed thin, and laid on with a brush, or covered 

 with slate. Planks that have been used one season will 

 usually have begun to decay, and this rotting is often 

 the source of a fungus that will spread rapidly through 

 the damp, warm sand, and this is very likely to kill 



