CUTTINGS IN OPEN AIE. 49 



the enriching materials should be placed as deep in the 

 soil as the roots will extend. An application of hard 

 wood ashes will often be found very beneficial. It is 

 always best to prepare the cutting bed in the fall, so 

 that all the materials of which it is composed may 

 become intermingled by spring. 



Time to Make Cuttings. In this latitude the 

 fall of the year, soon after the leaves have fallen, is the 

 best time to take cuttings from the vine, but where the 

 winters are mild they may remain on the vine until mid- 

 winter, or even later, without injury. 



When taken from the vine, the wood may be cut 

 into the required length, or, in other words, the cuttings 

 may be made and put away in moist soil in the cellar, or 

 buried in some dry place in the open ground, or the 

 wood may be put away entire, and, if kept moist, the 

 making of the cuttings deferred until spring. 



Selection of Cuttings. Cuttings should be made 

 of the past season's growth that is, shoots that have 

 been produced during the summer are to be taken for 

 cuttings in the fall. These are called cuttings of one- 

 year-old wood. That which is strong and vigorous and 

 well-ripened is the best, although the very largest does 

 not always make the best cuttings, nor does it root so 

 readily as that which is of medium size. All soft, 

 spongy, and unripened wood should be discarded, as 

 good plants are produced only from good, healthy wood. 



Form of Cutting. There is as great a variety of 

 opinion among cultivators in regard to making long cut- 

 tings as there is respecting the form of those of a single 

 bud. They are made of various lengths, from four inches 

 to two feet. I much prefer a short cutting to a long 

 one. A cutting of six or eight inches in length, when 

 properly planted, will make as good, if not a better 

 plant, than one of twice that length. The following is 

 the method that I practice, believing it to be the best : 



