PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY CUTTINGS. 



123 



rooted without being cut at a joint as otherwise, yet there 

 are, in some plants, other considerations that necessitate 

 that they should never be cut except at a joint; for ex- 

 ample, a Dahlia cutting will root quite as freely, make as 

 fine a flowering plant in fall, and the tuberous roots in- 

 crease to the full size; but it will not be able to start 

 again in spring, because the Dahlia pushes only from the 

 crown of the root, and if the crown has not been formed 

 from a cutting made close 

 below a joint, as in figure 

 30, it is worthless, as the 

 tubers and crown formed 

 without an eye possess no 

 latent or dormant buds; 

 hence the importance of 

 always making Dahlia or 

 Clematis cuttings by cut- 

 ting immediately below an 

 eye, if the roots are wanted 

 for future use. Plants, 

 such as some species of 

 Bouvardias, Helianthus, 

 Euphorbias, Gypsophila 

 and Anemone, are best 

 increased by cuttings of 

 the roots, which are cut 

 in pieces of an inch or so 

 in length, placed flat to- 

 gether on the propagating 

 bench, pressed down and covered slightly with sand or 

 light soil. Figure 31 shows a root cutting of Anemone 

 Japonica. 



With these instructions for the proper state of the cut- 

 ting, I now proceed to describe the medium wherein it is to 

 be placed, and the conditions of temperature, moisture, etc. 

 If these are strictly followed, failure is an impossibility \ 



Fig. 31. BOOT CUTTING. 



