28 PROPAGATION. 



as follows : about the last of October, take cuttings from the 

 thrifty shoots of a bearing tree, cut out all the buds except two 

 or three at the top, and pare off the bottom of the cutting just 

 below a bud. Lay-in the cuttings in a sheltered border, bury- 

 ing them so that only the two buds at the top are exposed, and 

 covering them with some loose straw or litter. In the spring, 

 make a small hot-bed with very sandy soil in which to plant 

 the cuttings on taking them out of the ground, or place each 

 one in a small pot in any hot-bed ready at hand, and in a few 

 weeks they will be found to have made roots freely. 



As a general rule, cuttings succeed best when they are taken 

 off just between the young and the previous year's wood ; or, 

 in the case of young side shoots, when they are cut off close to 

 the branch preserving the collar of the shoot. The lower end 

 should be cut smoothly across just below a bud, the soil should 

 in all cases be pressed firmly about the lower end of the cutting, 

 and it should always be planted before the buds commence 

 swelling, that the wound may in some measure heal before 

 growth and the absorption of fluid commencejg. 



Propagation by Layers and Suckers. 



A layer may be considered as a cutting not entirely separated 

 from the plant. 



Layering is a mode of propagation resorted to in increasing 

 some fruit tree stocks, as the Paradise stock, the Muscle Plum, 

 and some kinds which do not grow so well from the seed. 

 Certain varieties of native grape, as the Eland's Virginia, which 

 do not root readily by cuttings, are also raised in this way, and 

 it may be applied to any sort of fruit tree which it is desirable 

 to continue on its own root without grafting. 



Fruit trees are generally layered in the spring, and the layers 

 may bo taken off well-rooted plants in the autumn. But they 

 may also be layered with success early in July. 



In making layers the ground around the mother plant should 

 be made light and mellow by digging. Being provided with 

 some hooked pegs to fast- ' 

 en down the layers, bend 

 down a branch, so that 

 the end may recline upon 

 the ground. Open a little 



trench three or four inches 4i ft C 



deep to receive the young 

 wood to be layered ; 

 make a cut or tongue Fig. 

 1 6 a, half way through the 

 under side of the shoot, 

 pegging down the branch 

 with the hooked peg 6, to Fig. 16. Layering. 



