EAISING THE PLANTS 45 



every morning and the grubs destroyed. The mature 

 beetles may be shaken down from trees on bright days 

 in early autumn. A dressing of gas-lime given to the 

 beds six or eight weeks before sowing a green crop will 

 often destroy the grubs. 



Other Methods oj Propagating Trees. 



The quickest and most useful way of raising Poplars 

 and Willows is from cuttings or slips, which will vary 

 much in size according to the class of tree to be raised. 

 In the nursery Poplar cuttings, as a rule, are about 12 to 

 15 inches long and are cut from wood three or four years 

 old. There should be four or five buds on each cutting, 

 two or three of which should be below the surface of the 

 ground when the slip is inserted, leaving two buds above 

 the ground, from which the best shoot is selected to 

 remain. 



In plantations in frosty localities cuttings from 5 feet 

 to 6 feet long with a terminal bud are sometimes used, 

 the object being to keep the leading shoot above the frost- 

 line and to obtain a big tree in the shortest possible time. 



Tree Willows, too, are generally started from large 

 cuttings, often from 10 to 15 feet high and 2 inches or 

 more in diameter at the butt. 



The Cricket-Bat Willow is nearly always raised in this 

 way. 



Osier cuttings are about 12 inches long, and either 

 allowed to take root in the nursery or placed direct into 

 osier beds. 



Small cuttings should always be cut with a sharp knife 



