GARDENING FOE PLEASUEE. 



such as desire more extended information on the subject 

 of propagating plants by cuttings, I would refer to my 

 work, "Practical Floriculture." 



CHAPTER XIV. 



PROPAGATING BY LAYERING. 



Although florists now rarely resort to propagation by 

 layering, yet now and then it may be desirable for ama- 

 teurs to increase the number of some favorite plant dur- 

 ing the summer season, where no other method of propa- 

 gation can be practised. The only difference between a 

 layer and a cutting is, that the cutting is entirely de- 

 tached from the parent plant, while the layer remains 

 partially connected with it. Although layering may 

 be done with the ripened wood of vines or shrubs of the 



growth of the previous 

 season, yet it is prefer- 

 able to use the shoot of 

 the present year in its 

 half green state ; for ex- 

 ample, a rose or flower- 

 ing shrub is pruned in 

 the usual way in spring; 

 by midsummer it will 

 have made strong shoots 

 one, two, or three feet in 

 length from or near the 

 base of the plant. Take 

 the shoot then in the 

 left hand, (after having stripped it of its leaves for a few 

 inches on each side of where it is to be cut), keep the 

 fingers under the shoot, and make a cut on the upper part , 



Fig. 15. PROPAGATING BY LAYERING. 



