LAYERING 



123 



fastening it to the ground by means of a peg of some kind, and 

 then covering the cut portion with moist soil. Roots are pro- 

 duced at the node, and when well developed the shoot may be 

 completely cut through and planted out. A very large number 

 of specie's of plants may be propagated in this way, and 

 the students should be encouraged to experiment on a variety 

 of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and bushes, not necessarily confining 

 themselves to plants of the garden. They should notice that 

 the farm labourer, when making or renovating a thorn hedge, 

 makes use of the two methods of propagation, by cuttings and 

 by layers. The period which 

 should be allowed to elapse be- 

 tween layering and separating 

 the rooted shoot is different for 

 different sorts of plants. Gener- 

 ally speaking, herbaceous plants 

 may be layered in July, and the 

 shoots taken off in September. 

 Woody shrubs should be layered 

 in autumn, and not severed until 

 the following August or Septem- 

 ber. For detailed description 

 we may select the propagation 

 of Carnations, which is usually 

 effected by layering at the end of 

 July. We require for the purpose 



a really sharp knife, a small quantity of potting soil, and small 

 wooden pegs such as may be easily cut from any hedge. A 

 vigorous side shoot should be chosen, and after trimming off the 

 leaves from the lower portion of it a node convenient for pegging 

 down should be selected. An oblique cut is then made in the 

 shoot commencing a little distance below the node and extending 

 through the middle of the stem up to, but not through, the node. 

 The shoot is next bent down so that the cut portion rests firmly 

 on a small pressed-down heap of the potting soil, and is there 

 pegged. It is then covered with some more of the potting soil, 

 also firmly pressed down, and the mass of soil thoroughly 

 moistened. The parent plant is also well watered, and the 



FIG. 57. Layering Carnations. A, old 

 plant ; B, young layer ; C, shows the 

 cut made with a sharp knife, lip of stem 

 kept open with small pebble ; D, special 

 compost ; E, border soil. 



