PROPAGATION BY SINGLE BUDS. 23 



forcing the buds into growth too early; better wait until 

 the season arrives when they naturally begin to swell, as 

 they will then grow more readily and make more healthy 

 plants than if started in the early part of winter. At 

 this time take out the cuttings and cut them up into 

 pieces as represented in Fig. 

 5 ; put these into water as 

 they are cut ; this will pre- 

 vent their becoming dry 

 while they are being pre- 

 pared ; and if they are allowed to remain in the water for 

 twenty-four to forty-eight hours, it will do them no harm, 

 but often be of benefit, especially to the hard-wooded 

 varieties, as it softens the alburnous matter from which 

 the roots grow, and loosens the outer bark, and thereby 

 allows the roots to push through it more readily, there 

 being always more roots produced from other parts of the 

 cutting than from that part where the cambium has been 

 exposed by the knife. It is also a benefit to some varieties 

 that produce roots very tardily, to scrape oif a portion of 

 the outer bark and the remains of the old leaf-stalk which 

 immediately surround the base of the bud, so as to par- 

 tially expose the inner bark. 



When a quantity of the buds are prepared they should 

 be put into moderate-sized pots (six or eight inch is a con- 

 venient size) filled to within about an inch of the top with 

 pure and moderately coarse sand, firmly packed. Place the 

 cuttings, with the buds up, about an inch apart all over the 

 surface; press them down firmly with the thumb and 

 finger ; sift on sufficient sand to cover the upper point of 

 the bud about a quarter of an inch deep, then press it all 

 down evenly, using the bottom of another pot for the pur- 

 pose, after which apply water enough to just moisten the 

 whole contents of the pot. 



Sand taken from the banks of fresh-water ponds or run- 

 ning streams is the best for propagating purposes, as it is 



