Propagation by Cuttings. 201 



the dormant period (177). This is true not only of the 

 plant as a whole, but also of detached parts of the plant, 

 if they are protected from evaporation. If cuttings are 

 taken from a plant in autumn and stored during winter 

 in a moist place of moderate temperature, the cut sur- 

 faces will partially callus over (73), and the formation 

 of roots or buds may commence before spring. 



When new growing points must be developed before 

 the cutting can form a plant, as with cuttings of the stem 

 and roots of many species, cuttings of dormant plants are 

 preferably made at the beginning of the dormant period, 

 i. e., in autumn, and placed during winter under condi- 

 tions favoring the formation of new growing points. 



371. The Storage of Cuttings. Cuttings should be stored 

 in a place sufficiently moist to prevent loss of water by 

 evaporation, and warm enough to favor moderate root 

 growth. Cuttings with ready-formed buds must be kept 

 cool enough to prevent growth of these. Eoot growth 

 may proceed to some extent at temperatures too low to 

 excite the buds. These conditions are usually fulfilled 

 by covering the cuttings in damp sawdust, sand or loose 

 loam, and storing them through the winter in a moist, 

 moderately cool cellar, or by burying them in the open 

 ground beneath the frost line. In mild climates the latter 

 plan is often preferable. Stem cuttings (373) of plants 

 that do not root freely from the stem are frequently 

 buried with the proximal end (116) uppermost. This 

 gives them, to some extent, the advantage of bottom heat 

 (362 a), since the surface layers of the soil are first 

 warmed by the sun in spring. 



Cuttings stored in the ground over winter should be 



taken up and planted in spring before the buds expand. 

 12 



