174 FIELD, FOREST AND FARM 



stump so as to cover the lower part of each shoot. 

 The earth is piled up in the shape of a truncated 

 cone with a cup-shaped hollow at the top to receive 

 water from time to time and thus maintain the neces- 

 sary degree of moisture and coolness. Kept damp 

 and cool in this manner, the young shoots will he- 

 fore long send down adventitious roots, and the fol- 

 lowing year there will be a cluster of rooted plants 

 that can easily he detached with a knife. That is 

 what is called layering by earthing up or by 

 sprouting. 



"If it is found undesirable to cut back the parent 

 stem in order to obtain shoots for layering, and if 

 at the same time the shoot that we wish to root is too 

 high to be bent down and inserted in the ground, 

 the following expedient may be employed. A flower- 

 pot broken in two lengthwise or a leaden cornucopia 

 is hung on the tree, and the branch to be rooted is 

 placed lengthwise in the pot or cornucopia. The 

 pot is then filled with mold or moss kept damp by 

 frequent watering, and the result, sooner or later, 

 is the growth of adventitious roots. When these are 

 suitably developed, gradual weaning is next in or- 

 der; that is to say, underneath the pot a slight cut 

 is made, and this is deepened day by day. The end 

 here in view is to accustom the layer little by little 

 to do without the mother stem and support itself. 

 At last the separation is complete. This gradual 

 weaning is no less advantageous when the layers 

 are placed in the ground: it assures the success of 

 the operation. 



