PROPAGATING FRUIT TREES. 187 



honeysuckles, roots are formed in abundance 

 when the branches are left simply to trail upon 

 the surface of the ground. In other cases it is 

 only necessary to bend the branches into trenches 

 and throw a little covering of soil upon them in 

 order to get well rooted plants. But with the 

 majority of plants, includ- 

 ing the quince and the 

 grape, a little assistance 

 with the knife is required. 

 An incision of any kind 

 will tend to arrest the de- 

 scending flow of sap and Fig- is. 

 induce the formation of roots. A simple tongue 

 passing under an eye, as in Fig. 18, is all that is 

 required, where the branches are sufficiently flexi- 

 ble. But it often happens that, when the cut is 

 thus made, the shoot is greatly weakened, if not 

 broken entirely off, in bringing it to an upright 

 position. A safer mode and one which brings 

 the tongue into a better position for throwing out 

 roots is to make the incision on the top of the 

 bending branch, and then to turn the tongue to 

 one side of the branch, as seen in Fig. 19. The 

 liability to break is much lessened, and roots will 

 strike out in a more natural direction. Layers are 

 more generally made from half -ripened wood, 

 in July and early August, and there is no doubt 



