8 



applied to the end of cut branches when pruning trees : " Take 

 a large basket of fresh cowdung, half a basket of fine lime rub- 

 bish from old buildings, half a basket of woodashes from the 

 kitchen, and about four double handsful of the finest sand pro- 

 curable : the last three articles must be well sifted and mixed 

 together, working the whole up with a powrah or beater until 

 it is quite smooth ; then lay on the plaster about one-eighth of 

 an inch thick, all over the part where the wood or bark has 

 been cut away, finishing off the edges to a thin surface." " Then 

 take a quantity of dry powder of woodashes, mixed with a sixth 

 part of the same quantity of burnt bones. Sprinkle this powder 

 over the surface of the plaster till the whole is covered over 

 with it : let it remain to absorb the moisture, then apply more 

 powder, gently rubbing it with the hand till the whole plaster 

 becomes a dry surface." 



CUTTINGS. Propagation by cuttings is simple, and generally 

 successful with fast growing hardy shrubs, such as the Laurel, 

 Grape, Fig, &c., but with many others, such as the Myrtle, 

 Cypress, &c., it is one of the most delicate and difficult modes 

 of continuing the species. The subject must be considered as 

 to the choice of cuttings, their preparation, insertion in the 

 soil, and future management. 



CUTTINGS, CHOICE OF. Those branches of trees or shrubs 

 thrown out nearest the ground, and especially such as recline, or 

 nearly so, on the earth's surface, have always the most tendency to 

 produce roots : even the branches of resinous trees, which are 

 extremely difficult to propagate by cuttings, when reclining on the 

 ground, if accidentally covered with earth in any part, will often 

 throw out roots, as in the Fir, Cypress, &c. : cuttings should 

 therefore be preferred from those shoots nearest the stem and 

 ground. The proper time for taking cuttings, is when the sap is 

 in full motion, in order that, returning by the bark, it may form 

 a callus or protruding ring of granular substance between the 

 bark and wood, whence the roots proceed. As this ring is gener- 

 ally best formed in ripened wood, the cutting, when taken from 

 the mother plant, should contain a part of the former year ; or 

 in plants which grow twice a year, of the wood of the former 



