CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 69 



uniform state, never absorbing so much moisture as to 

 rot, and, on the other hand, not becoming too dry ; 2dly, 



There is an unusual amount of cambium at the junction 



/ 

 of the old and new wood ; and here also there are always 



to be found several buds, either developed or dormant. 

 Hence this is a peculiarly favorable point from which to 

 develop young roots. Some kinds which are difficult to 

 root in the open air, the Delaware for example, are propa- 

 gated quite successfully by cuttings in this form. Mil- 

 ler, in his "Gardener's Dictionary," gives the following 

 directions for a primitive method : " Having an iron bar of 

 an inch or more in diameter, a little pointed at the end, 

 they therewith make a hole directly down, about three 

 feet and a half deep ; then being provided with an instru- 

 ment they call a crucciala, having a handle of wood like 

 that of a large auger, and the body of iron four feet long 

 and more than half an inch in diameter, at the end of 

 rchich there is a nick something like a half-moon, they, 

 after twisting the end of the cutting, put it therein, and 

 force it down the bottom of the hole, where they then 

 leave it, and afterward fill up the vacancy with fine sifted 

 earth or sand ; observing to tread the earth close to the 

 plants, which otherwise (unless it be stiff land) is often 



