50 THE GEAPE CULTUK1ST. 



About the last of November or the first of December I 

 select the wood for cuttings, and with a pair of garden 

 shears cut it up into lengths of about six 

 inches, leaving not less than two buds 

 upon the cutting. If the wood is very 

 short-jointed, a cutting of this length 

 will have three or four buds upon it; 

 if so they are all the better, as roots 

 usually start from each bud, but are 

 seldom emitted the first season in cut- 

 tings grown in the open ground, from 

 the stem between the buds. 



With a sharp knife smooth oft the 

 wood close up to the base of the lower 

 bud, and cut off the top end about an 

 inch above the bud, at an inclination, 

 as shown in Fig. 14, which gives the 

 form of a two-bud cutting. 



A three-bud cutting is the same, 

 with an additional bud between the two. 



When the cuttings are all prepared, 

 they should be put away in the ground 

 where they will not be frozen or become 

 too wet. I usually set them thickly in 

 a shallow trench, then cover them up, 

 leaving the top bud just above the 

 ground, after which cover all up with 

 coarse manure to keep out the frost. 



So soon as the ground is settled in 

 spring, fork over the cutting-bed, rake 

 it level and smooth, then draw a line 

 across it, place the back of the spade to 

 the line and throw out the soil, leaving 

 "FIG. 14. a trench nearly perpendicular at the 



side next to the line, and a little deeper than the cut- 

 ting is long; then set the cuttings upright in this 



