158 Principles of Gardening 



of the latter plants are small dimples, lined with short hairs, 

 which the diosmas already mentioned also possess. Now, as 

 the crude nourishing matter is drawn up through the open 

 wood in its existing state, and received by the cutting, while the 

 spongioles of the roots only imbibe it in a very thin solution, it 

 appears that the above-named plants, on account of the peculiar 

 formation of their leaves, cannot elaborate in any great quantity 

 this gross nourishing matter; and hence arise stagnation of the 

 juices, and the before-mentioned appearances. The good effect 

 of leaving these cuttings lying, and thus interrupting the growing 

 process, and preventing the superabundant rise of the crude 

 nourishing matter, will be apparent ; and this is the more pro- 

 bable, as it is usual, for the same reason, to put a piece of mould 

 round the cut. 



Cuttings of succulent, or fleshy, plants must also lie for a time 

 before planting, and on no account in a moist atmosphere, that 

 the surface of the cut may be sufficiently dried. They retain 

 so many watery particles in their cellular tissue, that, when this 

 is neglected, the face of the cut soon rots. The species of 

 the families Melocactus, Echinocactus, Mammillaria, Opuntia, 

 Cereus, &c, have an extremely thick bark, and a firm epi- 

 dermis with very few stomata ; on which account the process of 

 evaporation is so slow, that they remain alive for a long time 

 without receiving external nourishment. The dried cuttings of 

 these plants, therefore, are generally planted in dry earth, and set 

 in a bed or house filled with warm air, and are not watered 

 till they have formed roots from the nourishing matter accumu- 

 lated in themselves. The roots can scarcely ever penetrate the 

 thick bark, and are produced between the wood and the bark. 

 In some of the Opuntia and Cereus species, however, they come 

 out of the bark at the side. The other succulent and fleshy 

 plants which form side roots, such as the A'loe, Haworthm, 

 iSempervivum, Mesembryanthemum, Crassula, Plumiena, and its 

 congeners, as well as all the Cacti, may be watered as soon as 

 they are planted. Lastly, plants with milky juice also require 

 similar treatment, as they are equally liable to damp off. 



As soon as a part of one of these plants is cut off, the milky 

 juice exudes in great quantities, covers the whole surface of the 

 cut, and hardens like caoutchouc, by which the vessels are all 

 stopped up, and the ascension of the moisture prevented. In this 

 garden, cuttings of .Ficus, and the dry roots of Euphorbia, are 

 stuck in water, where they remain twenty-four hours before they 

 are put in the earth. The same end is also attained when they 

 are put in dry sand immediately after being cut, and afterwards 

 the sand and the milky juice cleared away. Only the succulent 

 and very milky euphorbias must lie for some time. 



Although it is proved by the above, that the cutting receives 



