324 THE NURSERY-MANUAL 



is safer. Some growers obtain the same results by burying upside 

 down in a cellar. These slow-rooting sorts often start well if they 

 are simply kept in a warm cellar but where the buds will not 

 swell all winter, as the callusing is then hastened. At the end 

 of the first season the plants may be transplanted. The plants 

 are often sold at this age, but buyers usually prefer two-year-old 

 plants. 



Single bud or " eye " cuttings are largely used for the newer 

 and rarer varieties. These are cut from the canes in the fall, the 

 same as long cuttings, and are stored in boxes of sand or moss. A 

 month before the weather becomes settled, these boxes may be 

 taken into a house or greenhouse, or put in a mild hotbed, to induce 

 the formation of the callus. They may then be planted outdoors, 

 and a fair proportion of most varieties may be expected to grow. 

 The best and commonest way of handling eyes, however, is to start 

 them under glass. They are planted horizontally, or nearly so, 

 and about an inch deep in sand or sandy earth, in a cool greenhouse 

 in late winter in February in the northern states and in 

 about six weeks the plants will be large enough to pot off or to 

 transplant into coldframes or a coolhouse. If only a few plants are 

 to be grown, they may be started in pots. When the weather is 

 thoroughly settled, they are transferred to nursery rows, and by 

 fall they will make strong plants. Various ways are recommended 

 for the cutting of these eyes as cutting the ends obliquely up or 

 down, shaving off the bark below the bud, and so on but the 

 advantages of these fashions are imaginary. A good eye-cutting 

 is shown in Fig. 113. The foreign grapes are propagated by eyes in 

 the North, although long cuttings also give good results. 



Soft cuttings are sometimes used to multiply new kinds. These 

 may be taken in summer from the growing canes, but the plants are 

 usually forced in winter for the purpose of giving the extra wood. 

 Cuttings are taken off as fast as buds form, and they are forced in 

 close frames with a good bottom heat. The cuttings may comprise 

 two buds, with the leaf at the upper bud remaining, or they may bear 

 but a single eye, in which case the leaf, or the most of it, is left on. 

 This rapid multiplication from small soft wood usually gives poor 

 plants ; but strong plants may be obtained by allowing the wood to 

 become well hardened before it is used. Soft cuttings will root in 

 two or three weeks under good treatment. 



To secure extra strong plants from single buds, the eyes may be 

 saddle-grafted or whip-grafted on a root 2 or 3 inches long. The 



