Nature-Study Agriculture 



The advan- 

 tage in 

 layering 



FIG. 49. Starting cuttings of geranium. Geraniums are among the easiest 

 plants to propagate in this way. 



to develop.) Cuttings from roses often die if they are 

 disturbed when the roots are young. So it is better to 

 plant rose slips in the open ground with a shovelful of 

 sand in each hole, leaving them for a year before trans- 

 planting. They will then be thoroughly rooted. 



Layering. As a cutting must depend upon the nour- 

 ishment within itself until it can produce roots, it must 

 be protected very carefully from influences that would 

 cause it either to dry out or rot. But if a twig can be 

 left joined with the parent plant while it is forming roots, 

 there is little danger of failure (Fig. 50). This can be 

 done by bending the branch or vine down to the ground, 

 covering a part of it in the moist earth, and letting it 

 remain there until roots develop and a new plant is 

 formed. This process is called " layering." Bushes 

 and vines, as black raspberries and grapes, may be 

 started in this way. (Exp. 6.) 



