10 THE MULBERSY AND OTHER SILKWORM FOOD PLANTS. 



remain on the cutting. When placed in the propagating bed the slips 

 should be inserted in the sand in a direction sloping from the 

 operator. Good results will follow if a cool propagating house is 

 used, with clean sand as the rooting medium. When a propagating 

 house is not available a wide frame provided with sash will answer 

 the purpose. The frame should face north, and if in the shade of 

 trees so much the better. The sash should be kept shaded during sun- 

 shine, so that a humid atmosphere may be maintained until the cut- 

 tings take root. After they have made a considerable quantity of 

 roots in the sand they should be transferred to beds in the open. 

 These beds should be 5 feet wide. Place the rooted cuttings about 6 

 inches apart each way and water copiously until established, when 

 they must be exposed freely to air and sunshine. 



HARD-WOOD CUTTINGS. 



The principal supply of plants may be secured by propagating 

 from cuttings, which should be made from dormant wood taken from 

 the trees just after the leaves have fallen. In no case should the 

 cutting wood be less in diameter than a quarter of an inch. The 

 cuttings should be about 10 inches in length, making the upper cut 

 about one-half inch above a bud. The position of the lower cut is 

 immaterial. The cuttings should now be tied in bundles of 50 and 

 either stored for the winter or immediately put out where they are 

 to root. Where the winters are not too severe, or in the Eastern 

 States south of the twenty-ninth parallel, the}^ should be put in the 

 ground during the autumn. North of this it will be found best to 

 keep them under cover until the ground is in a condition to be worked 

 in the early spring. If they are kept even for a short time in a dry 

 place they will lose their sap and become shriveled ; therefore, they 

 should be buried in moderately moist sand or sand and ashes. Under 

 such conditions a good callus will have formed around the lower cut 

 surface before the time arrives when they are to be placed in the 

 open ground. 



If sphagnum moss can be easily procured, it may be used very suc- 

 cessfully as a substitute for sand or ashes, but in this case the bundles 

 of cuttings should be smaller and they should be placed with the buds 

 pointing upward, the moss to be packed tightly around them, with the 

 top part uncovered. This is an excellent medium for inducing the 

 formation of a good callus. 



Previous to putting the cuttings in the open the soil should be 

 plowed deeply, then harrowed and rolled until well pulverized. A 

 furrow is made with a spade to a sufficient depth, a little sand thrown 

 in the bottom, and in this the lower ends of the cuttings are placed. 

 Fill in the soil to half the depth of the furrow, firm well with the 



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