93 



entailing a little more expense, the far greater percentage of strikes 

 would amply repay the extra cost. 



Cuttings must therefore be carefully protected from the desiccating 

 action of the air and sun from the time of their removal from the vine 

 until the planting season; the longer this interval is the greater is 

 the necessity for proper preservation. 



Cuttings are preserved in different ways, but none is more efficacious 

 than burial in soil. They may be buried in a vertical or horizontal 

 manner. Some persons advise to place them in heaps, with the lower 

 extremities turned uppermost, and cover them over with soil; but 

 this does not seem to give better results than if they were buried in 

 an upright position. If cuttings have only to be preserved for a few 

 Aveeks before planting out the bundles may be partially buried, that is, 

 the lower extremities stuck in the ground to a depth of 9 inches or so. 

 Before planting it is well to soak them in water for a day or two. 



Stratification of cuttings is the French term for their burial in a 

 horizontal manner, as indicated (Fig. 16). This is more to be recom- 



FIG. 16. 



mended than the vertical position, and will in the great majority of 

 cases give the best results. 



The soil in which cuttings are stratified should be loose and, pre- 

 ferably, sandy. It should be sufficiently moist to prevent loss of 

 moisture, but not wet, as this would render them liable to become 

 mouldy or even to rot. 



A trench, about 18 inches deep and as wide as the cuttings are 

 long, should be dug in such a position as to ensure thorough drainage. 

 The cuttings should then be placed in bundles of 50 each, the earth 

 replaced over them and well trampled. 



The advantages of this system are obvious; it gives thevignerona 

 much longer time to plant his cuttings in, and at the same time 

 causes them to strike far more readily, as the process serves as a 



