PROPAGATING FRUIT TREES. 185 



bed to protect from rain. Early in the spring 

 the bed should be uncovered and the earth re- 

 moved from the tops, and as soon as the ground 

 is dry the cuttings should be lifted and planted as 

 directed for stocks, but in rows eighteen inches 

 apart, if cultivated by hand. Currants and 

 quinces may be from four to six inches in the 

 rows, but grapes will require more distance. 

 The usual length of cuttings is about nine inches, 

 and they should be selected from strong, mature 

 growth of the same season. As the tissues just 

 under a bud are favorable for granulation and 

 the formation of roots, it is best to make the 

 lower cut near the base of an eye. The upper 

 eyes should not project more than two or three 

 inches above the surface. Grape vines and 

 many other hard wood plants may be raised 

 from cuttings with a single eye, but since there 

 is little wood 

 left to sustain 

 the eye, in such 

 a case, the aid 

 of bottom heat 

 will be required. 

 In a propagating 

 bed of sand over 

 waterpipes, these Fig. ie. 



eyes root with facility. Before the roots inter- 



