42 



LAYERAGE. 



40. Conipott)ld lay€ring-pot. 



one side, u'ith which to hans it un a support. A cup or 



pot with a removable side is also used. This is shown 



open in Fig. 38 and closed in Fig. 



39. An ingenious comjiound 



layering-pot is shown in Fig. 40. 



The main stem or trunk of tlie 



plant is carried through the large 



opening, and the branches are 



taken through the smaller pots 



at the side. Rier's lavering-boxes 



/ ^. 

 or racks are shown in Figs. 41 



and 42. The trays are filled with 



earth or moss, and the branches are laid in through the 



chinks in the border and are treated in the same manner 



as ordinary outdoor layers. These 



racks supply a neat and convenient 



means of increasing greenhouse 



plants which do not readily strike 



fnim cuttings. 



It is well to bear in mind that when 

 layers do not give strong plants, they 

 can be divided into portions, each 

 bearing a bit 'jf root, and treated as 

 ordinary cut;ings. This is an im- 

 portant operation in the case of rare 

 varieties uiiich are multiplied by 

 means of soft or green layers, as 

 some of the large-tlowered clematises and new varieties 

 of grapes. The small, weak plants are handled in a cool 

 greenhouse or under frames, usually in pots, and they soon 

 make strong specimens. 



From what has now been said of layerage, the reader 

 will perceive that it may be employed either for the out- 

 right production of new plants, or as a means of starting 

 or "striking" plants. In the latter case, the layer plants, 

 after ha\ ing been separated fremi the parent plant, are set 

 in nursery rows and there grow n for one season ; and in 



falMMil 



41. A'ier's Jayering-rack 



