CHAPTER XXVIII. 



Propagating by Cuttings and Layers. 



Lemon and citron grow very readily from cuttings. The 

 orange is more difficult to induce to throw out roots, and the 

 lime can scarcely be relied on at all from cuttings. Cuttings 

 are usually prepared about twelve inches long. The best are 

 those cut from new wood not more than an inch in diameter. 

 The usual method of planting is to make a trench from six to 

 nine inches deep with a spade, and place the cuttings about a 

 foot apart in the trench. The trenches should be four feet apart. 

 Two or three inches of the cutting is enough to leave exposed. 

 All the attention they need the first year is to keep the ground 

 well watered and cultivated and free from weeds. The subse- 

 quent care should be the same as that of young trees in nur- 

 sery raised from seed. It is a fact I have proven by experience, 

 that the roots of trees raised from cuttings are comparatively 

 worthless, as compared with those raised from seed. I would 

 advise the discontinuance of the practice of using cuttings for 

 stocks. 



Another method of propagating is by layers. This is done by 

 bending down to the ground a lower limb of a tree, covering it 

 with soil, and holding it in place with stakes with notches to fit 

 the layer and driven into the ground. It is a good plan to 

 scarify with a knife the portion of the layer to be covered, as 

 roots will form more readily in consequence thereof. This 

 method of propagation is so slow and tedious it is seldom re- 

 sortedtto in this country. 



