66 FOREST PLANTING. 



est weather is over. Trees should never be cut for this 

 purpose later than March. 



LAYERS. 



Sometimes stumps develop shoots which may be bent 

 down into the soil to a certain depth, after an incision 

 has been made on the under side of the shoot, in the 

 bend, so as to split it, if possible, a little below the bud, 

 and to form a tongue. A hooked peg is usually employed 

 to hold the layer in place. The tops should be elevated 

 above the surface of the ground in an upward direction, 

 and tied up to a pole. In time, the buried parts of these 

 shoots (or branches) take root, and finally become indi- 

 vidual trees. The ground around tlie layers should be 

 kept quite clear of weeds, and the layers should be freely 

 watered in dry weather. When sufficiently rooted the 

 layers should be carefully separated from the stool 

 (parent tree) with all the rootlets attached to them, and 

 planted in nursery lines, or in those situations where they 

 are permanently to remain. Layers may be made at any 

 time in the growing season ; but they will root sooner if 

 made when the trees are growing rapidly (spring) than at 

 any other time. The process of producing layers, as we 

 shall see further on, is of great importance in replanting 

 denuded side-hills where rain may wash away the soil. 

 The roots of the old stumps and the new roots of the 

 layers bind the soil, and thus prevent its washing out. 



While "shoots" are produced in deciduous trees by 

 adventitious buds, the layers and cuttings of some of the 

 deciduous trees have the power of forming roots. A 

 number of trees can be propagated by cuttings, as for in- 

 stance : the W^illows, Poplars, some of the Alders and 



