34 



SCIENCE OF GARDENING. 



are even benefited by having their superfluous shoots thus 

 slipped out; but currant trees, on the contrary, must not 

 be so treated, for the buds which are destined to produce 

 fruit, are generally found at the base of the young shoots. 

 Those, therefore, which cannot be treated in this manner, 

 should be cut off just below a bud, and the lower end of 

 the cutting should be made perfectly smooth, while the 

 upper end should be cut off in a sloping direction, close to 

 another bud. The cuttings should be made about six inches 

 in length, though three inches will be sufficient when the 

 young shoots are scarce, and all the buds should be taken 

 off except the two uppermost ones, and the one at the base. 

 When they are thus prepared, they should immediately be 

 planted out, which may be done by opening a trench about 

 two or three inches in depth, and having made one side of 

 it erect by chopping it with the spade, insert the cuttings 

 into it, and replace the soil about them, pressing it hghtly 

 round each, and leaving only the two buds or eyes out of the 

 ground. This is far preferable to the common practice of 

 dibbling them in, which presses the soil too closely about 

 their lower extremities, and frequently causes them to 

 rot, by retaining too much moistm-e about them. 



Dahlias, pelargoniums, and other similar plants, which 

 are desired to be propagated by cuttings, must receive a 

 very different kind of treatment, and require much greater 

 attention. Being themselves of a very Avatery and juicy 

 nature, it is obvious that they will not strike if they are 

 left exposed to the alternations of wet and drought, so 

 common in our changeable climate ; therefore, to preserve 

 them from such injuries, they should constantly be covered 

 with a hand-glass, or kept in the window of a dwelhng- 

 house, while this process is being performed. The hand- 

 glass, when used, will likewise have the effect of retaining 

 a sufficient degree of heat, and preserving the atmosphere 

 within it in a moist state, as well as afford means for 

 shading the cuttings. They should be taken from the 

 extremities of the shoots, and deprived of all their lower 

 leaves, but not of their buds, and will be much more 

 likely to succeed, if only the summits of each shoot are 

 used for this purpose; as, unlike bard- wooded plants, they 

 will not thrive so well if the tops of the shoots are cut off. 



