UNIVERSITY 



WHEN TO PROPAGATE. 97 



preparatory to division, but have never yet found 

 one where the roots, both young and old, did not 

 show disease. Of these diseases we shall speak in 

 the proper place ; suffice it to say here that they 

 are of such a nature that they gradually continue 

 their insidious work after the young plant is put 

 out, and while the latter may appear strong when 

 it is put in the ground, the trouble is present, and 

 after a while, when an extra strain comes, the 

 effects, in one form or another, will surely appear. 



Another serious objection to this method is 

 that it must necessarily be done late, after bloom- 

 ing time is over or nearly over. This in many 

 sections will delay the work of propagation to such 

 an extent that if unusual weather conditions pre- 

 vail through April or May much injury will result 

 to the young plants. If a hot spell of weather 

 comes on, as it often does in the early part of May, 

 the young plants are sure to suffer, and weak, 

 stunted stock is the result. We have never 

 found it safe to put in stock after 

 April fifteenth. 



Another method of propagation, and one open 

 to fewer objections than the last, consists in cut- 

 ting the offshoots, or cuttings, from the main 

 plant any time from the first of February to the 

 middle of March. In this case the main plant is 

 not disturbed, but the )'oung offshoots, which in 

 good plants are found in abundance, are cut off, 

 only those being selected which show young, 



