OF THE VINE. 



61 



closed about the bottom of the layer, it will facili- 

 tate its striking. 



The ground should be well closed to the layer; 

 the surface should be made smooth, and formed 

 into a kind of basin, after which a little very 

 rotten dung must be laid therein in the manner of 

 mulching. 



The layer will strike freely, either with or with- 

 out an incision being made at the bottom ; early 

 spring, before the rising of the sap, is the most 

 eligible season for the performance of this business, 

 because the shoot would be liable to bleed at the 

 wounded part, as soon as the sap begins to rise. 



During summer, if the weather prove dry, 

 frequent waterings should be given, for it is abso- 

 lutely necessary to keep the ground in a moist 

 state during that period. The new plant will ac- 

 quire sufficient roots in the course of the summer, 

 to admit of its being taken off from the mother 

 plant in the autumn, and this should be done as 

 soon as the leaf has fallen. Great care must be 

 taken to preserve the roots of the new plant unin- 

 jured through the succeeding winter, therefore it 

 will be proper to keep the plant, during that 

 season, in a guarded situation, where it may be 

 well secured and protected from frost, as its future 

 success, in a great measure, depends on the pre- 

 servation of its first fibres or roots. 



Vines are sometimes laid in pots with great ad- 

 vantage. The most eligible method of performing 

 the operation is by conducting the shoot through 



