274 TREATISE ON FRUIT TREES. 



Cuttings are taken from strong shoots with the most buds. They're cut fairly long, 

 making certain that each cutting has at least four nodes. They're better when the shoots 

 arc cut at five or six nodes above their point of origin, & when they retain a little of the 

 preceding year's wood at their larger end. They're then called Crossettes [Translator's 

 note: heel cuttings]. They take root much more easily that way than do other kinds. 



The cuttings are planted or driven into earth that's fresh or kept that way by 

 watering, to a point just above their second node. They're sheltered from the sun either by 

 a wall or better by straw mats. If there are only a small number of cuttings, their taking 

 root & subsequent progress can be promoted by planting them in a pot or frame or in a 

 basket set in a hotbed & sheltering them with a straw mat, or better yet putting them 

 under a bell glass or a frame until their success is assured. February is the time to make 

 the cuttings. Some trim their cuttings, tie them in a bundle, and soak the large ends in a 

 basin or in a small pool (keeping the other end out of the sun) until they see that the 

 nodes have put out roots or at least root buds. They're then planted as just described 

 above. The end of the cutting should never be immediately above a node, but rather at 

 least one inch above it because the shoots of grapevines are very pithy and the buds soon 

 would be exposed to air & dry out. 



Grapevines additionally can be propagated by cleft grafting. In February a 

 vinestock is sawed off even with the ground. The stock is split, & a graft made from the 

 large end of a shoot with the most wood & the most nodes, is inserted properly. A 

 dressing is formed at the insertion point, the plant is earthed up & the exposed part of the 

 graft is protected from direct sunlight. 



