52 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS 



Leaf Cuttings are employed in the case of plants in the Crassula 

 order, and tender plants like Begonias and Gloxinias. The leaves are 

 placed on fine sandy soil or coco-nut fibre, and the main nerves are 

 cut through vpith a sharp knife. The sap from the cut surface forms a 

 callus, and from this comes a little bud above and roots below^. After 

 a time the body of the leaves decays, leaving the plantlets, which are 

 potted up singly into small pots, in fine rich sandy soil. 



Preparing Soil for Cuttings. — The soil for cuttings should alv^ays 

 be specially prepared, particularly for those of flowering plants. What- 

 ever soil the plant grows in best should be used, with more than the 

 usual mixture of sand ; and it should always be weU drained, as stag- 

 nant moisture would very soon rot the rootless stem. The more tender 

 or difficult the plant, the more care should be taken in watering, 

 shading, and airing the cuttings. 



3. Propagation by Grafting 



A graft is somewhat like a cutting, but instead of its being placed 

 to root in the soil it is inserted in the stem of another living plant 

 which is already provided with roots. Only trees and shrubs and 

 sometimes herbaceous plants of the Dicotyledonous group can be 

 grafted. The cut surface of the graft or ' scion ' and the stock should 

 fit neatly together, in such a way that the layer of the inner bark in 

 each should be in contact. This layer is called the ' cambium,' and 

 consists of thin- walled cells, which are always at work adding a layer 

 of wood on the inside and a layer of bark on the outside, thus adding 

 to the diameter of the plant stem, as already explained at p. 30. 



MO. 117.— WHIP 

 GKAI-TING. 



FIG. 118.— WHIP 

 GKAPTING. 



FIG. 119.— WHIP 



GRAFTING. 



FIG. 120. — WHIP 

 GKAFTING. 



Varieties of Grafting. — There are various ways in which a graft is 

 attached to the stock, the chief being : — 



