PROPAGATIOlSr. 



65 



at a joint, but thej succeed best when properly pre- 

 pared. 



Tlie cutting being taken off just below the joint per- 

 fectly smooth, most of tlie leaves should be cut off close to 

 the stem with a sharp knife, and a hole being made in the 

 soil the cutting should be put in and the earth closely pressed 

 to its extremity or it will never strike root. The part 

 /' which is to send out roots must be firrply fixed in the soil 

 in the case of seeds, transplanted trees, and layers, and 

 this necessity exists with equal or greater force in regard 

 to cuttings. When cuttings are struck in a pot they will 

 more readily strike if they rest against the side or bottom 

 of the ^qt. Cuttings maybe short, containing only one 

 bud, -when desired to be extremely multiplied, in which 

 case they should be planted horizontally in moist sand 

 near the surface and watered frequently and kept under 

 glass. This is also a good way to plant cuttings of great- 

 er length. They may be planted obliquely with but a 

 bud or two above the surface, as is usual with grapes or 

 inserted perpendicularly as already directed. A new 

 mode is to insert both ends of the cutting in the soil, bend- 

 ing the cutting like a bow so that the bud in the centre of 

 the shoot may just appear above the soil. Cuttings of 

 plants that strike very readily may be struck in the open 

 soil without any covering. When struck in pots, it is 

 customary to fill the pots half full with silver sand or fine 

 charcoal, to prevent the stalk of the cutting from having 

 too much moisture around it at the surface. Some plants 

 liable to be injured by moisture are struck entirely in 

 sand, as- heaths, &c., but most cuttings do best with the \ 

 lower end in earth and with sand only one or two inches 

 deep at the top of the pot to keep the stem dry and pre- 

 vent it from rotting. The cutting when prepared should 

 be buried to the second or third joint, and two or three 



