86 MANUAL OF MODERN VITICULTURE. 



young vine is well constituted, and even bears fruit the very 

 year the operation is performed. To sum up, this method 

 may be considered as superior to any other, its only faults 

 being that it prevents cross ploughing, and requires a great 

 length of wood. 



2ND. MEANS OF PROMOTING ROOTING OF LAYERS. 



Although layers generally root freely when planted in 

 mellowed, moist soil, some means of promoting the growth 

 and development of their root system can be recommended 

 such are : 1st. A ligature made with a piece of wire towards 

 the middle of the underground part of the layer ; 2nd. A split 

 kept open with a small wooden wedge ; 3rd. A tongue 

 separated with a part of the wood, or simply barking. The 

 principle of these operations consists in inducing the forma- 

 tion of callus favorable to the development of roots. 



Watering and mulching to prevent the soil from drying 

 also greatly helps the development of young plants. 



SRD. BEST TIME FOR LAYERING. 



The most favorable time for layering lignified canes is 

 immediately after the fall of the leaves. The cane buried at 

 that time is submitted to a kind of stratification, and throws 

 roots quickly and freely when the vegetation starts again. 

 However, an exception must be made in the case of soils 

 remaining too damp in winter, in which the buds may rot. 



When herbaceous shoots are used they should be buried 

 as soon as they are not too brittle, and can be bent without 

 breaking. The more tender and greener a shoot is the more 

 easily it throws roots. 



To sum up, from the above descriptions we see that layer- 

 ing is generally a more complicated and more expensive 

 method than propagation by cuttings, and this accounts for 

 it not being generally used. However, it can render real 

 services, as it insures a strike of every bud, even with 

 varieties which do not root at all from cuttings. 



