206 



PRINCIPLES OF PLANT CULTURE 



372. Planting cuttings in autumn. Stem cut- 

 tings of the currant and other hardy plants, and 

 root cuttings (376) of the blackberry, are some- 

 times made as soon as the wood is mature in 

 autumn, and planted at once in well-drained 

 loamy or sandy soil in the open ground. Cut- 

 tings thus treated often commence to form roots 

 before winter. They should be covered 

 with a little earth and mulched with some 

 coarse litter on the approach of freezing 

 weather, and should be shaded for a time 

 after the opening of spring (Fig. 64). 

 373. Stem cuttings. Cuttings from 

 dormant stems usually form 

 roots more promptly if the 

 proximal end is cut off shortly 

 below a node (115). (See 

 Figs. 100, 101 and 102.) In 

 certain plants, as many of 

 the conifers, cuttings root 

 more promptly when cut 

 with a heel, i.e., with a 

 small portion of the wood of 

 the previous year at the base. 

 The very short internodes at 

 the junction of the two sea- 

 son's growth appear to favor 

 the emission of roots. Some 

 varieties of the grape root 

 more readily when a short 



FIG. 100. FIG. 101. FIG. 102. 



FIG. 100. Stem cutting of cur- 

 rant. 

 FIG. 101. Stem cutting of grape. 



FIG. 102. - - Currant cutting section of the parent branch 



is removed with the cutting, 

 forming a mallet or T-shaped cutting (mallet cuttings). 



