56 PROPAGATION 



keep the vessel in which the pot is placed tilled with water, as 

 described above. 



Orchid seed. Experts in orchid-growing formerly sowed the 

 seeds upon the surface of the material in which the orchid pi ints 

 were growing, as owing to the presence of a symbiotic fungus it was 

 supposed th'it the seed could only be grown in this way. Good 

 results are, however, now generally obtained by sowing orchid seed 

 on finely chopped moss or similar moist medium. 



Propagation by Cuttings. With the exception of seeds, this 

 is the commonest method of propagition and, as a rub, the most 

 expeditious and satisfactory. Propagation by cuttings as compared 

 with that by seed has special advantages. By the former tlvj peculiar- 

 ities of the parent are reproduced as if the cutting were still a part 

 of it, whereas by seed the special characters of the parent are 

 often noc perpetuated. In the tropics, a very large proportion 

 of plants may be readily propagated by cuttings, especially if 

 these are inserted in suitable soil during the rainy weather ; 

 some species, as the Dadap (Erylhrina lilhosperma), thus strike root 

 so easily that if stems or branches are used as fence posts they will 

 soon develop roots and sprout into leaf. In other cases, however, 

 as with species characterized by hard wood or hollow stems, it is 

 difficult, if not impossible, to induce cuttings to strike root. For 

 successful propagation by cuttings, the following conditions are 

 important, viz.: (1) firm and sufficiently ripened shoots from which 

 the cuttings are taken ; (2) a suitable rooting medium composed of 

 a light porous sandy soil, or fine sand only ; and (3) a higher tem- 

 perature with closer atmosphere than that in which the plants grow 

 when established. 



It is believed that most cuttings strike root more readily if 

 inserted in the ground sloping- wise instead of erect, and in the East 

 the natives invariably practise this when planting cuttings for the 

 Cassava crop, or cuttings to form hedges. The explanation prob- 

 ably is that the cuttings are thus more firmly fixed and that there 

 is less evaporation of moisture from the portion underground. In 

 preparing cuttings, the end of the shoot to be in the ground should 

 be cut across with a clean slanting cut, just below a leaf-bud. The 

 lower leaves should be cut off, leaving 3 to 4 eyes or buds to be 

 under the soil when planted ; the upper leaves if of a large size may 

 be reduced to half. As to what is the best size for the cutting, 

 this depends upon the nature of the plant. In the case of soft- 

 wooded species, it is necessary to take rather large cuttings with a 

 certain amount of firm woodiness ; cuttings of young succulent 



