72 MANUAL OF MODERN VITICULTURE. 



To obtain perfect preservation of cuttings they should be 

 placed under such conditions that they neither dry nor 

 absorb more water than they naturally contain. Desiccation 

 kills the cuttings by removing their water of vegetation. 

 An excess of water induces the development of bacteria 

 and moulds which may injure the cuttings. Sometimes, 

 if this does not take place the tissues of the wood, gorged 

 with water, dry away very quickly when exposed to the air. 



Packing in fresh, light, almost dry soils realizes the best 

 conditions. Unfortunately, the weight of such packages 

 renders them impracticable. When the cuttings have not to 

 travel very far the best way is to surround the bundles' with 

 straw, after wrapping the base in slightly damp moss. For 

 longer voyages the bundles may be completely surrounded 

 with moss or saw-dust, mixed with powdered charcoal, the 

 cases being lined with oil paper. 



Care to be given on arrival. On arrival the cuttings 

 should be unpacked and dipped into water for one or two 

 days, or better, stratified in slightly damp soil. The cuttings 

 sent from America are often packed in damp sphagnum; 

 this, however, has the defect of being too wet. If the 

 cuttings packed in this way have not suffered during the 

 voyage they should be stratified in almost dry sand and re- 

 moved in small lots prior to planting out. It is also advis- 

 able to keep them in a bucket with water at the bottom until 

 the moment of planting. When these cuttings have to be 

 kept a certain time before planting the best means of pre- 

 serving their vitality is to stratify them in sand in the cellar 

 or in a shed. 



2ND. BEST TYPES OF CUTTINGS. 



(A.) Different Systems. The types of cuttings most 

 generally used are those known as Crossettes (mallet- 

 cuttings),* that is to say, those having a small piece of 

 wood attached obliquely at their base (Figs. 30 and 31), and 

 those which consist of any part of the cane (Fig. 33). In 

 Crossette cuttings the lower end of the cane is very favorable 

 to the growth of well-placed roots. They have been used for 

 a long time almost exclusively on account of this, but, how- 

 ever, have the defect of not being easily planted with a dibble on 

 account of the slanting disposition of the two-year-old wood ; 



*Columella(2 B.c.-t55 A.D.) mentions this type of cutting as inalleolus. Publii Virgilii 

 Maronis Georgicorum, Libri quatuor. Trans, by John Martin, London, 1755. (Transls.) 



