CUTTINGS 



181 



oranges, are usually made in early fall. Healthy, vigor- 

 ous branches are cut into pieces with two or three eyes or 

 nodes apiece. These slips may be tied together, some 

 twenty-five in a bundle, and kept in a cool place through 

 the winter, to be started in the field in the spring when- 

 ever the soil and weather are favorable. Or they may be 

 planted at once in the fall, in moist sand, and kept warm 

 by decaying compost. The temperature should not rise 



above 80 F. The sand 



must be kept thoroughly 

 moistened, but not wet, 

 and must be well pressed 

 down around the cut- 

 tings. After they have 

 taken root they should 

 be transplanted to small 

 pots, and then should 

 be partly buried in sand. 

 As soon as the pots are 

 filled with the roots, 

 larger pots must be pro- 

 vided. 



Green, leaf-bearing 



ROSE CUTTINGS. 



The one on the left has already sent 

 out rootlets ; that on the right has not 

 been planted. 



cuttings from the ge- 

 ranium, for instance 

 are propagated in essentially the same manner. The 

 foliage should be trimmed off before planting, to retard 

 evaporation. 



Root cuttings made from the plum, blackberry, and red 

 raspberry are given much the same treatment as that just 

 described for ornamental shrubs. The temperature of the 

 bed of cuttings must be kept down until towards spring. 

 Sweet potatoes are roots, and are occasionally cut into 

 pieces for planting. Or they may be started in hotbeds; 



