66 



is the manner in which the shoot brealcs. If, upon being 

 bent, the shoot snaps off squarely so as to hang together 



with only a bit of 

 bark, as in the upper 

 break in Fig. 68, it 

 is in the proper con- 

 dition for cuttings ; 

 but if it bends or 

 simply crushes, as in 

 '^?JT5W'7-9'i?55^'-'?fJ-!?®j???''!!55'^^the lower portion of 

 rMlf "^^ •■•'SP!^ Ae figure, it is either 

 ^iilSte,.S*^^i«^ too oM o; too voung 



6,. Soft cuttings (x>3) fo^ g^^j ^^5^U^ 



The tips of the shoots of soft-wooded plants are usually 

 employed, and all or a portion 

 of the leaves are allowed to 

 remain. The cuttings are in- 

 serted in sharp sand to a suffi- 

 cient depth to hold them in 

 place, and the atmosphere and 

 soil must be kept moist to pre- 

 vent wilting or 

 "flagging." The 

 cuttings should 



also be shaded for the first week or two. It 

 is a common practice to cover newly set cut- 

 tings with newspapers during the heat of the 

 day. A propagating-frame is often employed. 

 Soft cuttings are commonly cut below a bud 

 or cut to a heel, but this is unnecessary in 

 easily rooted plants like geranium, coleus, 

 heliotrope, etc. Fig. 69 shows an oleander 

 ^ , , , cutting at a, a carnation at b, and a geranium 



^l. One style of 'to 



chrysanthf- at c. A coleus Cutting is illustrated in Fig. 70. 

 jniiOT cu ing j^jjj,.|j, growers prefer to make a larger cutting 

 of some firm-wooded plants, like chrysanthe- 

 mums, as shown in Fig. 71. 



Coleus cidting (x'/3). 



