Propagation by Cuttings. 195 
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. 
Cuttings of evergreen coniferous plants cannot be buried, 
as this would destroy the leaves, without which they rarely 
form roots. Cuttings of these plants are usually made in 
autumn and planted at once in boxes of sand, which are 
kept for a time in a light, cool place, as a cool greenhouse, 
until the growing points of the roots have formed, after 
which they are removed to a warmer location. 
372. Planting Cuttings in Autumn. Stem cuttings 
of the currant, and other hardy plants, and root cuttings 
(376) of the blackberry, are sometimes made as soon as the 
wood is mature in autumn, and planted at once, in well- 
drained loamy or sandy soil. Cuttings thus treated often 
commence to form roots before winter. They should be 
covered with a little earth, and mulched with some coarse 
litter on the approach of freezing weather, and should be 
shaded for atime after the opening of spring, (Fig. 63, p. 
135). 
373. Cuttings from Dormant Stems (stem cuttings) 
usually form roots more promptly if the proximal end is 
cut off shortly below a node (116). See Figs. 96,97 and 438. 
In certain plants, as many of the conifers, cuttings root more 
promptly when cut with a heel, i. e., with a small portion of 
the wood of the previous year at the base. The very short 
internodes at the junction of the two seasons’ growth appear 
to favor the emission of roots. Some varieties of the grape 
root more readily when a short section of the parent branch 
is removed with the cutting, forming a mallet-shaped, or T 
shaped cutting (mallet cuttings). 
