ON PLANT PROPAGATION. 



955 



Some of them, indeed, may be accommodated outside in beds 

 previously prepared with light soil ; but others require to be 

 l)rotected with lights, &c. They may, however, easily be pro- 

 [)agated under quite simple conditions. 



Selection of Cuttings.— It is extremely difficult to describe 

 how cuttings ought to be selected, for a certain amount of 

 practical knowledge is required, and many things have to be 

 taken into consideration. Cuttings should only be taken from 

 healthy plants or growths possessing no appearance of disease. 

 Ni\merous are the stove and greenhouse plants which may be 

 increased by means of herbaceous cuttings, in which case it is 

 preferable to select the stock plants a few weeks before propa- 

 gation, and to have them potted up and placed in a little 

 more heat, to induce them to grow freely, and thus produce 

 some stronger growths, which may be more successfully struck. 

 Before propagating fohage plants it is also advisable to sponge 

 them very carefully with an insecticide to destroy any Thrips 

 or Red Spider, which are so injurious to this class of plant. 



As regards deciduous trees or shrubs, cuttings must be taken 

 during the summer, enabling them to take root before they lose 

 their leaves ; otherwise, when their resting period approaches, 

 the cuttings would perish. Young ripened wood or branches 

 give the best results, and of course terminal cuttings are preferable. 

 The evergreen, or true hard-wooded section, do not require such 

 attention. However, the cuttings must be taken from well- 

 ripened and healthy branches. ^Many plants belonging to this 

 group require to be propagated by means of terminal cuttings. 



Leaf-cuttings are often used for the reproduction of many 

 Bego7iiacece and Gesneracece. It is advisable to take only fully- 

 developed and characterised leaves free from disease, because if 

 too soft they will "damp off" easily. 



Cuttings of any description must be cut perfectly clean, and 

 with the soft-wooded section it is preferable to take only a small 

 quantity at a time to prevent them from drooping. The hard- 

 wooded section do not require such particular treatment, but if 

 a certain number of cuttings have been taken in advance it is 

 advisable to keep them in a shady place, slightly damped. 



Co^^iPOSTS. — Cuttings need a very light soil, through which 

 water can readily drain, and various materials are used for this 

 purpose. Soft-wooded cuttings require, more than any others, a 

 very light compost. Silver- and river-sands are the best substances 

 for cutting-beds, and the plants that may be propagated in them 

 are very numerous — e.g., Drac^nas or Cordylines, Crotons or 

 Codiceums, a quantity of 2Ielastomacece., Bego?iiacece, and many 

 soft-wooded plants like Chrysanthemums, Verbenas, Calceolarias, 

 Heliotropes, 6cc. The chief advantage of good sand is that 

 it is pure, and free from living matter. Sawdust is also a useful 

 material, but it must be often renewed, because the constant 



