106 THE NURSERY-MANUAL 



cutting. Such cuttings, whatever the kind of plant, are com- 

 monly started under glass with bottom heat, either on a cut- 

 ting-bench or in a hotbed, being planted an inch or so deep 

 in a horizontal position, with the bud up. The soil should be 

 kept uniformly moist, and when the leaves appear the plants 

 should be frequently sprinkled. In thirty to forty days the 

 plants are ready to pot off. Single-eye cuttings are usually 

 started about three or four months before the season is fit 

 for outdoor planting, or about February in the northern states. 

 The most advisable method of treatment varies 

 with the season and locality, as well as with 

 the species or variety. It is well known, for 

 example, that the Delaware grape can be 

 propagated more easily in some regions 

 than in others. A common style of single- 

 eye cutting is made with the eye close to the 

 top end, and a naked base of an inch or two. 



FIG. 114.* Spruce This is inserted in the soil perpendicularly, 

 cutting (x j). with the eye j ugt aboye the sur f ace> i t j s 



much used for a variety of plants. 



Many coniferous plants are increased by cuttings on a large 

 scale, especially retinosporas, arbor- vitse and the like. Cut- 

 tings are made of the mature wood (Fig. 114), which are planted 

 at once (in autumn) in sand under cover, usually in a cool 

 greenhouse. Most of the species root slowly, and they often 

 remain in the original flats or benches a year, but their treat- 

 ment is usually simple. In some cases junipers, yews and 

 Cryptomeria japonica will not make roots for nearly twelve 

 months, keeping in good foliage, however, and ultimately giving 

 good plants. They are always grown in shaded houses or 

 frames, and sometimes in inside propagating-frames (Fig. 81). 

 Often the cuttings are handled in boxes, as explained in Figs. 95, 

 96, and perhaps stored in a pit (Fig. 97). 



Most remarkable instances of propagation by means of 



