88 PLANT PROPAGATION 



layering is adapted to such plants as the India rubber plant 

 and the oleander. Perhaps the plant which is most often 

 propagated by this method is the rubber plant. To per- 

 form aerial layering the branch is first wounded by either 

 ringing or tongueing. When this operation is finished the 

 wounded part is covered up with damp phasgnum moss, 

 which is tied around the wounded part. Sometimes a divided 

 flower pot is placed around the branch and filled with moss. 

 The moss must be damp and never allowed to dry out. It 

 usually requires from six to eight weeks before sufficient 

 roots have developed to remove the plant from the parent. 

 When the roots have filled the moss the branch should be 

 cut from the parent below the phasgnum. Set the new plant 

 in a pot but do not remove the moss. Fill the pot with good 

 soil and set the plant in a shady place for a week or ten 

 days and keep the soil moist. 



Time for Layering. — The spring, when the growth is the 

 most rapid, is considered the most favorable time for lay- 

 ering. The operation is much more successful in a moist 

 and a warm climate than in a dry or a cold one. Occa- 

 sionally it is advisable to make the layer late in the fall 

 so that the wound may callus over before spring, or that 

 bleeding which occurs in some species in the spring may be 

 obviated. Layering may easily be practised on many of 

 the plants grown about the home. The grape, the currant 

 or the gooseberry are easily propagated by layering, and for 

 the amateur it is a very satisfactory method. Layering is 

 a good method of propagation because the young plant is 

 nourished by the parent until the roots are formed. 



Cutting. — A cutting is a detached member of a plant which 

 is placed in the soil or some other medium to be rooted. 

 Cuttings are conveniently divided into four classes with 

 respect to the part of the plant from which they are made: 

 (1) Tuber cutting, (2) root cutting, (3) stem cutting, (4) 

 leaf cutting. 



Tuber Cuttings. — Tuber cuttings are made by divid- 

 ing the tubers into sections containing a bud or an eye. 

 The most common example is that of the potato. This 

 method of propagation is common in the planting of pota- 



