288 PROPAGiTIOlfr OF PLANTS. 



Beveral pieces, inserting a eion on each ; but better trees and a more vig- 

 orous growth will be obtained if the stocks are entire, or only the tap- 

 root and some of the lateral ones are shortened, if of too great a length 

 for convenience in handling, in gi'afting and when planting out. Two 

 or three persons may work together at this root grafting to considerable 

 advantage ; for while one is cleaning and prepaiiug the stocks, another 

 can cut and Insert the cion, while the thii'd may apply the waxed cloth 

 or paper, without loss of time in laying down and picking up knives and 

 other implements used in the operation. When the stocks are grafted, 

 they are packed away in moss or soil and stored in a moderately cool 

 cellar, where the process uniting cion and stock will proceed slowly 

 until the time arrives for planting out in nursei-y rows in spiing. The 

 Apple may be readily propagated by budding or grafting in the open air, 

 but root gi-afting in winter is preferred, because little else can be done in 

 the nursery at this season, and long experience has shown that this mode 

 of propagation answers every purpose, and, upon the whole, is the 

 cheapest. In propagation of the different species of the Mountain Ash 

 (Firus Americana, P. aueuparia, etc.,) the seeds should be sown where 

 the young plants can be shaded until they become weU established, for 

 in our hot climate the young seedlings are veiy likely to be burned off, 

 if not protected from the direct rays of the sun. The diHerent varieties 

 may be propagated by budding or grafting on seedling stocks aud in the 

 open air. 



Pittosporum, (Pitch Tree). — Ornamental evergreen trees or shrubs, 

 mostly natives of tropical countries. The most common species in cul- 

 tivation is the P. Tobira, from Japan, bearing small, white, fragrant 

 flowers. Propagated by cuttings of the ripened shoots, planted in sand 

 under glass. 



Planera (Planer Tree). — A genus of small deciduous trees closely 

 allied to the Elms ( Tllmus), of no great beauty, but interesting to the 

 botanist and arboriculturist, as the few species in the genus are natives 

 of widely separated countries ; for instance. United States, Japan aud 

 Siberia. Propagated by seed, layers, and grafting on the Elm. (See 

 Chapter XVII.) 



Platanus (Plane Tree, Sycamore, Buttonwood). — ^A very limited 

 genus of only three species, two in the United States {P. ocddentalis and 

 P. racemosa), and one in Europe {P. orientalisi). Of the latter there are 

 several varieties in cultivation. All large, noble, deciduous trees, but 

 rarely planted in this country, although the European species and vari- 

 eties are occasionally seen in some of our city parks. Propagated by 

 cuttings of the ripe wood, taken off in the fall, and buried in the ground, 

 and planted in low, moist soil the following spring. 



Podocarpus. — ^A genus of evergreen trees of the Taxacce or Tew 

 Family, mostly native of warm climate; ; one species — ^the P, japonica — 

 nearly hardy in this latitude, but it is doubtful, if it will prove of much 

 value as an ornamental tree at the North, exoeit in sheltered situations. 



