76 HOW TO MAKE HOME 



cut on the twig should be made just beneath a node (where 

 the leaves were). Place the box in a hot- bed or cold 

 frame and cover with a lath or cotton shutter. In the 

 absence of a hot-bed put in the shade of a tree. Do not 

 allow it to dry up. In about six weeks some of the cut- 

 tings should have rooted and may be,se ( t two or three inches 

 apart in rows in the garden in the well prepared soil. The 

 best time to transplant it is on a rainy day or after a rain 

 when the soil is moist. Some shrubs will be ready to set 

 permanently in one year; others will require two or three 

 years. 



Hard wood cuttings are taken in the fall, winter, or 

 early spring. Often the branches pruned are used for 

 these cuttings. They are made six or eight inches long 

 and may be put directly into the soil if it is ready in fall 

 or spring. If cuttings are made in winter, store them lay- • 

 ing them flat in boxes of sphagmun moss, or sand until 

 spring. They are set in rows, using either a dibber or" 

 spade. Only one bud should be left above the ground and' 

 at least two should be below the surface. The soil should 

 be pressed firmly about the cuttings. 



LAYERING 



layering is a very simple and natural method of re- ' 

 producing shrubs. It consists of laying the lower branches * 

 down and pinning them down with earth. They soon 

 root. The branch is then cut off and an independent plant 

 established. This may be large enough to set in its per- 

 manent place when first transplanted the following spring. 



GRAFTING 



Propagation by grafting is practiced to produce 

 quicker results than other methods of reproduction. Graft- 

 ing is the art of placing a portion of one plant upon an- 

 other related plant in such a manner that the growing 

 tissues of each coincide and union takes place. The plant 

 grafted is the stock. The part grafted into the stock is 

 called the scion. Grafting is practiced on many trees that 

 do not come true from seed, such as apples, pears, etc. 



