214 TREES AND TREE-PLANTING. 
of the nature, in productive thrift, of the growth of 
which it is the life-blood; so it may be inferred that, 
according as the growth of the species is rapid or tardy, 
the period of perfecting of the roots may be determined. 
Cuttings are detached branches or ends of branches 
of trees, usually from six to twelve inches in length, and 
are selected from shoots of the latest growth, though, 
in this case, if the tree is of considerable size and age, 
it will be necessary to select from the latest and lower 
shoots, and not from the main stem or first branches, as 
it has been decided that these latter participate in the 
age of the tree, while the later shoots bear age only from. 
their year’s origin ; therefore this consideration is impor- 
tant as fixing the period of longevity of species propa- 
gated by cuttings. This peculiar characteristic may be 
accounted for from the fact of the yearly formation of 
sap-wood producing shoots which exist and thrive as part 
of itself, having birth as it were together, and increas- 
ing in size and strength proportionately with the natu- 
ral transformation of sap-wood to wood of compressed 
texture. 
Cuttings of deciduous trees should be selected in the 
fall, and chosen from those limbs which are of apparent 
healthy vigor, tied in bundles and stored away till the 
following spring. The most convenient and safe way 
of preserving them during winter is by a covering of 
earth or other substance of sufficient depth to be out of 
the reach of frost. They should be cut smooth and 
square through the stem, and immediately under a bud, 
as this operation, when performed with nicety—care be- 
ing taken not to crugh the cutting in any of its parts— 
will facilitate the early production of the root, and pre- 
vent a hasty decay of the inserted end. There is an ob- 
jection to the “slant cut,” especially for cutting of trees 
or shrubs having a pith, as in them the absorption of 
water is great, and consequently the decay of the lower 
part of the cutting hastened. 
