174 



PBOPAGATION OF PLANTS. 



main stalk and planted out separately. The Quince, 

 Hibiscus, Cercis, Paradise Apple, and many other kinds 

 of trees and shrubs that produce roots readily, are exten- 

 sirely propagated in this manner. It is certainly more 

 convenient for the purpose of layering, if the branch is 

 near the ground ; yet it is not positively necessary, be- 

 cause soil, or other material "which will answer the same 

 purpose, may be elevated to the branch to be layered. 

 A platform may be made, upon 

 which to place the soil (figure 68), 

 or boxes and pots filled with it 

 may be suspended among the 

 branches of a tree and the shoots 

 layered therein. But in making 

 layers of this kind, it will require 

 more care to keep the soil moist 

 around the layer than when they 

 are placed in the earth in the usual 

 manner. It will seldom be neces- 

 sary to make layers of branche," 

 that cannot be bent down to the 

 Fig. 68.-LAYBE IN POT. ground, still, instances may occur, 

 where it will be desirable to secure some freak in this way. 

 Time foe Making Latees. — The proper time, or 

 season, for making layers is as variable as that for mak- 

 ing cuttings. But, as a rule, layers should be made while 

 the parent plant is growing most rapidly, because roots 

 will be produced at such times more readily than at any 

 other, although with several kinds it will make very little 

 difference, as they produce roots freely under almost all 

 conditions and from all parts of the plant. With the 

 larger proportion of both deciduous and evergreen trees 

 and shrubs, layering should not begin until the leaves 

 have fully expanded, and the new growth of the season 

 is fairly under way. If layered earlier, many of the de- 

 ciduous trees and shrubs will " bleed," as it is termed, 



