290 



THE MOIST STOVE. 



called joints, or where tlie leaves and buds are already formed. Cuttings, 

 therefore, ought in all cases, excepting in such as the willow, or some 

 few other free-growing shrubs, to be cut transversely across, close under a 

 joint or eye ; and this must be done in a careful manner, for every cut 

 produces a fractured or bruised section, so that in separating the cutting 

 from the parent the former ought, of the two, to be the fractured part, 

 and it is to rectify this fracture that we recommend the careful cutting 

 transversely across of that part intended to become the new plant, wliich 

 if unattended to would rather be disposed to rot and decay than to 

 throw out roots, or form those granular callosities which in many plants 

 form first, and from which roots are certain to issue. 



The proper time for taking off cuttings of evergreen plants, — and most 

 tropical plants may be so considered, — is vrhen the sap is in motion - 

 in order that by its returning by the ]>ark, it may form a ring of granular 

 matter, from which roots will protrude ; and the point of separation in 

 removing the cutting should be just where the shoot of the present sea- 

 son's growth commences, taking a thin slice of that of last yearns gi'owth 

 attached to it ; or if at a more advanced period of the season, and in the 

 case of plants which make two growths in the year, taking a small por- 

 tion of the wood of the first growth, which tnUI have attained a pretty 

 firm consistency, and in general be of a brownish or darkish colour. 



AU soft-wooded plants not having too much pith will root freely if so 

 taken off. But there are others which are commonly denominated hard- 

 wooded, that root under all circumstances vrith difficulty, "With such 

 plants it has been proposed to remove a ring of the bark previously, and 

 where this operation has taken place, a callus will be formed ; and if then 

 separated from the parent and inserted in the ground, roots ^vill be 

 produced. Some hard-wooded plants take a year or upwards to strike 

 root, and some would perhaps never root at all if kept planted in mould 

 in the centre of the pot, even if of the kind most favourable for the plant, 

 but will root if set in sand, or in mould so close to the side of the pot 

 that the cutting may touch the side of it all its length ; and some if so 

 placed that theu' ends may rest on the bottom of the pot, or on pieces of 

 broken potsherd, placed on pm'pose. In these latter cases a brisk bottom 

 heat is essentially necessary. Some soft-wooded plants will root freely 

 in bottles of water, and it would be exceedingly interesting to ascertain 

 to what extent this practice could be canied. 



The management of cuttings after they ai-e planted depends on the 

 general principle, that where hfe is feeble all excess of exterior agency 

 must have a tendency to render it extinct. No cutting requires to be 



