PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 205 



related species in which it is known, and will often prove 

 to be right if the species are nearly allied. 



Some cuttings require little preparation. A willow 

 may be sharpened and driven into the soil and will take 

 root, and in some instances has done so, if planted bottom 

 upwards. Currants and gooseberries, cut into suitable 

 lengths, will emit roots not only from the callus, but from 

 any part beneath the soil. Of these, as of cuttings of all 

 deciduous trees, the buds on the part of the cutting be- 

 neath the soil must be removed before planting, or they 

 will push and become shoots. Cuttings of which the 

 leaves have fully performed their office, and the wood is 

 ripened early in the season, if made and planted out in 

 warm, moist soil, will form roots before winter, and be 

 ready to push into vigorous growth in spring. Such cut- 

 tings, planted in August or early in September, are nearly 

 a year in advance of spring-planted cuttings. 



Cuttings of plants, difficult to strike, may have a ring 

 of bark taken out just beneath a joint, at midsummer, 

 which will cause a swelling of the branch above the ring. 

 The branch is cut off in autumn at the base of the swell- 

 ing, the top shortened, and it is planted as a cutting, or 

 it. is buried in the soil for the swelling to soften, and 

 planted early in the spring. With plants that are not 

 very free to strike, it is from the joints only that roots can 

 be expected to grow; hence, in making cuttings, the shoot 

 is divided just below a joint, and it is considered best to 



choose a joint between the young w 1 and that of the 



previous season. The cut should be quite smooth, for if 

 the shoot be bruised, the returning sap will not be able to 

 reach the wound in sufficient quantity to make it heal 

 over and form the callus quickly, and the cutting will be 

 likely to fail. When the callus is properly formed, there 

 is little difficulty in striking cuttings. To form the callus 

 they may be mixed with damp sphagnum moss, or old 



