142 



THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE 



firm soil. Run a little stick or splinter down to some of the 

 seeds, allowing it to remain. The air enters alongside the stick. 

 Observe if there is any difference in germination. If not, try 

 it when the soil is very wet. 



224a. Very small seeds are often sown very shallow in a 

 pot, and a pane of glass is laid over the pot to check evapora- 

 tion (Fig. 46). As soon '"""^v as the plant-lets ap- 

 pear, the glass is re- r%l;?Afs\^i moved. For de- 



( ' V ft(i\^^^ *~S 



tailed directions for the )Sw ! " ' sowing of seeds, 



see the "Nursery-Book," ^W^fDi\ pp ' 15 ~ 25 - 



230ff. An illustra- ^^\ if l^lif^ tion of layering is 

 given in Fig. 47. Four 

 shoots are layered. One 

 shoot, A, is layered in 



vgto 



Fig. 48. Coleus cutting 



Fig. 49. Cutting held by 

 tooth-pick (x%). 



Fig. 50. One style oi 



chrysanthemum 



cutting (x%). 



two places, and two plants will result. When the layers have 

 taken root, the part is severed and treated as an independent 

 plant. Honeysuckles, lilacs, snowballs, and many common 

 bushes can be layered with ease. See Chapter iii., in "Nursery- 

 Book," for full discussion. 



233a. These green cuttings may be planted in shallow boxes 

 of sand, in coldframes or hotbeds, or in the bench of a glass- 

 house. Figs. 48-50 illustrate the process. 



234a. A grape cutting is shown in Fig. 51. This is the 

 common fashion for propagating the grape ; but new varieties 

 are often grown from single eyes, as shown in Fig. 52. Consult 



