PEOPAGATION OF TREES AND PLANTS 301 



on to keep it from freezing deeply {g f). In the spring, 

 after heavy frosts are over, the covering is taken off, the 

 soil packed firmly to the top of the cion, when, if the 

 work is STiccessful, growth will begin early and a large 

 vine will result. This kind of a graft is also made by 

 some in June after the leaves have unfolded, and the 

 sap has become thickened, but the cions must be kept 

 dormant in cold storage or deeply covered on the ice in 

 an icehouse. If the stock used is very small the cion 

 should be tied in with a strong string in order to obtain 

 pressure enough to cause the cambium layers to unite. 



PROPAGATION OF THE CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY 



These two fruits are propagated in the same manner 

 as the grape, i. e., by cuttings and layers. 



The Currant — Cuttings are best made as soon as 

 the leaves begin to fade in August or September. They 

 are made of the new wood, from six to eight inches 

 long, and should be planted at once for the best growth. 

 The soil should be a deep, moist, rich loam, and the 

 planting and care is the same as for grape cuttings or 

 root grafts, the top bud of the cutting being just covered 

 with soil. Before the ground freezes the bed should be 

 covered with several inches of strawy manure or other 

 mulch to- prevent the heaving of cuttings by the alter- 

 nating freezing and thawing during the winter and 

 spring. If the work is successful a large growth may be 

 expected the next season, and the bushes will be ready 

 to plant at one or two years from the time the cuttings 

 were planted. Layers of the currant are made like 

 those of the grape, but as cuttings root so easily under 

 proper conditions, the layer is not much used. 



The gooseberry is not easily grown from cuttings 

 unless the canes are first covered with soil for one 

 season, but readily grown by what are called "stools," as 



