PROPAGATIOlir. 



103 



venience in handling, and care should be taken to keep 

 all the butt ends one way to facilitate planting. Very 

 large cuttings are liable to decay in 

 the centre, and are not best to use, 

 although they often make a very 

 rapid growth. Poles of Willows and 

 Poplars are sometimes laid in furrows 

 where they will generally sprout wher- 

 ever the bark is laid bare and often 

 make good trees. 



In Planting Cuttings of ordinary 

 size it is a good plan to have the soil 

 loose, and then after marking off the 

 rows, the cuttings can be pushed into 

 the land the proper depth. If not de- 

 sirable to plough all the land, it may 

 be loosened just where the rows are to 

 come. Where a subsoil plough can be 

 obtained, it can be made very useful for this purpose. 



Cuttings should be planted at an angle of about forty- 

 five degrees, leaving only one bud above the surface of 

 the ground, and the soil should be packed firmly around 



Fig. 24.— a bunch 

 of Willow cut- 

 tings. 



Fig. 25. — ^Planted cuttings, showing angle and depth at which to 

 plant cuttings. 



them. Those set in a slanting position settle with the 

 soil and remain firm, while those set vertically may be- 

 come loosened by the settling of the soil near them, leaving 

 too much of them exposed above the surface, unless very 

 great care is exercised in planting. The rows in the 



