The Canadian Horticulturist. 33 



two or three buds upon it ; if so, they are all the better, as roots usually start 

 from each bud, but are seldom emitted the first season, in cuttings grown in the 

 open ground, from the stem between the buds. 



With a sharp knife smooth off the wood close to the base of the lower bud, 

 and cut off the top end about an inch above the bud, at an inclination as shown 

 in Fig. 86, which gives the form of a two-bud cutting." 



The cuttings, after being prepared, are buried in the ground, placing them 

 at an inclination of 45°, in layers of about an inch or so dee[), of grape wood 

 and fnie earth, alternately. In the spring, as soon as the ground is ready, they 

 should be set upright in a trench, or, if more than six inches long, they will 

 need to be somewhat inclined. They are usually planted three or four inches 

 apart, leaving the upper bud about even with the surface of the soil. The earth 

 should be pressed firmly about the cuttings. A simple way of planting is to 

 make a trench along the side of a line by simply inserting a spade full depth in 

 the ground and moving the handle back and forward until the soil remains 

 sufficiently open to receive the cuttings. They are then put in place and the 

 ground pressed back firmly about them by the treading of the foot. This same 

 mode of planting will apply to all kinds of cuttings. 



Grapes are sometimes propagated by joints of a single eye with 

 an inch or two of wood attached. These should be prepared in the 

 fall and packed in clean, damp, not wet, sand, in a cellar that i? not too warm. 

 Under such conditions a callus will soon be formed — -a cur ous excrescence, 

 nature's mode of covering an exposed portion of wood — 

 and from this roots will soon be sent out. The accom- 

 panying illustration, Fig. 87, from Dov/ning's " Fruits and 

 Fruit Trees of America," will clearly show how single eye 

 PIG. 8/. cuttings are made. 



The making of cuttings of gooseberries and currants scarcely needs any 

 directions, even for the novice. In the pruning time we make it a rule to 

 remove about one-third of the last year's growth, and these, averaging from three 

 to four inches in length, are buried in the soil, as above directed, and then 

 planted in the spring in rows about four inches apart. If the cuttings are of 

 more account than the fruitfulness of the bush from which they are cut, it will 

 be an advantage to remove with each cutting a small portion of the older wood 

 along with the new, or, in the case of a side shoot, the cut may be made very 

 clo.se to the old wood. While this is helpful, it is by no means necessary, as 

 these cuttings, in a favorable season, grow with the greatest ease. 



Formerly writers on horticulture advised removing every bud from the 

 cuttings with the exception of a few at the upper end, the object being to pro- 

 cure young plants with clean straight stems at the surface free from suckers. 

 Were it not for the borer this plan would still be advisable, but in our e.xperience 

 of later years we find it important to encourage suckers from the roots, because 



