234 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



straight edge in the dug soil, and place the pre- 

 pared cuttings against it, pressing the soil closely 

 round them. When propagation is effected under 

 glass, and the cuttings are small, a pointed stick 

 or dibber proportioned to their size is employed. 

 Some kinds do very well when planted equally 

 over the whole surface; others do better when 

 inserted near the sides of the pot — a circumstance 

 which is not easily accounted for, but that such 

 is the case is a well-known fact. The roots of a 

 plant increase more readily when they reach the 

 sides of a pot than they do previously when in 

 the soil. Stones in arable land have a similar 

 effect, for they have been frequently observed 

 matted with roots. This may be owing to there 

 being a less cohesion between the soil and the 

 stone than between the particles of the soil itself, 

 and consequently a freer passage for roots will be 

 afforded in the former than in the latter case. 



Temperature. — Cuttings of most plants start 

 more readily when kept in a close moist atmo- 

 sphere, and a temperature a few degrees higher 

 than that of the average temperature in which 

 the plant itself thrives. Thus, a frame for the 

 cuttings of tropical plants should be kept at 

 about 75°, and if bottom heat is used it may be 

 kept at 85°. The effect of bottom heat, i.e. 

 a high temperature about the soil in which the 

 cuttings are planted, is to stimulate the flow of 

 sap and to induce the early formation of callus 

 and roots. Cuttings of hard-wooded plants do 

 not require bottom heat, but for those of such 

 plants as Ixora, Allamanda, Codia?um, Dracaena, 

 &c, it is an advantage. 



Hotbeds made of stable-dung are useful in 

 spring for cuttings of ordinary garden plants. 

 On the other hand, a large number of plants 

 can be multiplied by means of cuttings planted 

 under a hand-light or bell-glass, and placed 

 in a shady place in the house along with the 

 plant from which the cuttings were taken. 

 In autumn many plants will root freely in the 

 open air in full sunshine. The atmospheric 

 conditions in which cuttings are placed should 

 vary with the nature of the plant. 



Cuttings of succulent plants strike root readily 

 in an ordinary house without any covering. 

 Cuttings of herbaceous plants of thin texture 

 must be prevented from shrivelling through 

 exposure to sun and air, or from turning 

 yellow through excess of moisture with a low 

 temperature. In regulating the temperature it 

 is necessary in the first instance to take into 

 consideration that in which the plant from 

 which the cuttings are taken has been growing. 

 Sometimes the plant is forced, in order to pro- 



duce shoots for cuttings, which therefore require 

 a higher temperature than that to which they 

 were subjected in the parent plant. Cuttings 

 taken from deciduous plants in a dormant state, 

 and furnished only with buds, should be placed 

 at first in a temperature very little higher than 

 that which is sufficient to excite and swell the 

 buds of the parent tree. 



Moisture. — The extent of surface by which a 

 cutting can absorb moisture for supplying eva- 

 poration is small, compared with that possessed 

 by well-rooted plants. It is therefore necessary 

 to adopt means to limit the amount of evapo- 

 ration, so that it may correspond as nearly as 

 possible with that of absorption. The free air 

 is frequently too dry for delicate cuttings, on 

 which account a sort of artificial atmosphere is 

 formed by them by propagating-glasses or hand- 

 glasses. It is possible by means of these to 

 maintain a constantly humid atmosphere; but, 

 on the other hand, this is not congenial to the 

 stems and foliage of some plants, and accord- 

 ingly there is danger of the cuttings damping off. 

 It would therefore be desirable that moisture 

 should be regulated like heat, but it is more 

 difficult to accomplish. When the earth, sand, 

 or other substance in which the cuttings are 

 inserted is kept moist, and a bell-glass pressed 

 closely down upon it, the bottom heat will raise 

 vapour to keep the air within the glass in a 

 saturated state, and whilst that is the case, 

 evaporation from the surface of the leaves can- 

 not take place. 



It is therefore advisable to remove and wipe at 

 least once a day the lights or bell-glasses, and to 

 allow them to remain off the cuttings for about 

 half -an-h our. In properly-managed propagating 

 houses this is a duty which is never neglected. 

 Staleness of the atmosphere, so productive of 

 damp, mildew, &c, is thereby prevented. It also 

 affords a convenient opportunity for the cuttings 

 to be looked over, all decaying or damp leaves 

 and dead cuttings to be removed; those which 

 require it are watered, and any that show by new 

 growth that they are rooted are removed to the 

 ' hardening-off ' quarters. 



Success with cuttings depends very largely 

 upon the care and attention they receive during 

 the root-forming process. Cuttings of many 

 plants strike root readily if placed with their 

 bases in water; indeed cuttings of some plants 

 which fail when planted in soil in the ordinary 

 way, succeed under the water treatment. The 

 operator should, in the matter of watering and 

 atmospheric moisture, be guided by the character 

 and habits of the plant he wishes to multiply. 



