REARING VINES FROM CUTTINGS AND EYES. 247 



moment, the shoots may be cut into suitable lengths and buried 

 in the earth, or placed in some other situation calculated to pre- 

 serve them sufficiently moist to await a period of leisure. The 

 wood selected for cuttings should be from vigorous shoots and 

 such only as are perfectly ripened. The rules for the preservation 

 of cuttings from the time they are prepared till the period for 

 planting them, are based on the simplest principles, being 

 merely to preserve the vital principle without an advance of 

 vegetation, or with as partial an advance as possible. Any 

 method therefore which may be adopted to effectually preserve 

 this vitality, will ensure general success. The best course, and 

 one which I have regularly pursued, is to bury the cuttings 

 upright for two thirds their length in boxes of clean sand, or 

 to cover them entirely in barrels filled with the same. They 

 can then be placed in a cellar or any other place free from frost 

 until wanted. It is recommended as much more advantageous 

 to keep them in an ice house, but this cannot be done by every 

 one. The preferable situation for them is where the cuttings 

 will be so cold as not to vegetate, and at the same time, retain 

 sufficient moisture to preserve life. The sand should be moist 

 but not wet enough to rot the scions, and it should be clean to 

 prevent their becoming mouldy. With a proper regard to 

 these precautions, there need be no doubt of a successful result* 

 Another method of preserving cuttings, is to dig a hole in 

 sandy soil of sufficient depth to be out of the reach of frost, 

 where they can be placed with layers of sand between each 

 layer of scions, and the remainder of the hole be filled up with 

 hay, straw, or sand. In this situation they can safely remain 

 until the middle of March or beginning of April. In most 

 cases it is beneficial before planting the cuttings, to soak them 

 for some hours in water by way of refreshing them. It is 

 not necessary to defer planting the cuttings until after all 

 spring frosts are past, because the natural vegetation of vine& 

 is very late, and a considerable time will elapse before the 

 cuttings push out shoots. I prefer forming my plantations of 

 them in March, and I have never known any to be injured by 

 frost ; for indeed the developement of the foliage of grape vines 



