CHAPTER XIV. 



ABOUT CUTTINGS AND THE TRANSPLANT- 

 ING OF TREES. 



In making fig cuttings some benefit is derived by 

 severing each limb just above a bud at the top and 

 just below a bud at the bottom. It, is still more 

 important to make the lower cut smooth without 

 injuring the bark, as is often done with a shear 

 shank. When bark is wounded around the butt it 

 interferes with "callusing" by the lateral wood 

 processes. Cuttings should be made from well ma- 

 tured stock, newer wood having less vitality, how- 

 ever, most nurserymen consider it unfit if more 

 than two years old. The larger the diameter of 

 the cutting the more latent vitality and the greater 

 its resistance to adverse weather and soil condi- 

 tions. The length should be determined primarily 

 by the depth of soil where it is to be planted; no 

 empiric rule can be stated for determining length, 

 but several illustrations may be of service. Where 

 soil is in good tilth for twelve inches, or more, and 

 the level of ground water is below that depth, 

 cuttings can be safely made from a foot to sixteen 

 inches long; butts should never reach below the 

 gravitational water level. Where soil is tilled shal- 

 low they should be made relatively short ; there be- 

 ing no benefit from inserting them into subsoil. If 



