18 



evergreens ; for if they are deprived entirely of 

 their leaves, or that they otherwise flag, or oc- 

 casional Ty fall off soon after they are put in, 

 there will be little or no chance of their grow- 

 ing. The reason is obvious, because the inhe- 

 rent sap of the cutting, being deprived of these 

 organs of respiration that kept it in motion, and 

 the cutting having no roots by the efforts of 

 which to produce new leaves, the sap, conse- 

 quently, becomes stagnated in the pores of the 

 wood ; which, like the stagnation of the blood 

 in animals, will in all likelihood prove mortal, 

 by occasioning an immediate mortification. 



In shortening each cutting; to the most con- 

 venient length, care must be taken to do it with 

 a clean cut, in a transverse direction ; and by 

 no means should they be left exposed, or to lie 

 any considerable time before planted. In plant- 

 ing, a small dibble or other convenient instru- 

 ment should be used to press the loam suf- 

 ficiently tight, to the base of the cutting, as that 

 is the principal part to be made fast, as soon as 

 the whole are inserted and the surface of the 

 mould made level and a little firm, give them 

 a gentle watering to settle them ; they should 

 be left to soak about a quarter of an hour, and 



