CUTTINGS. 



71 



CUTTINGS. 



ground, or into a hotbed, and covered 

 ■with a glass, or not, according to the 

 nature of the cutting. In fig. 10, a 

 shows the clay stopping of the inner 

 pot ; b, the drainage of the potsherds ; 

 c, the sand, or other soil, in which 

 the cuttings are inserted ; and d, the 

 water in the inner pot. 



Another method, which is shown 

 in fig. 11, is to have a small pot 

 (a sixty), b, turned upside down in 

 a larger pot (a thirty-two), a, and 

 to have the space c filled with small 



fig. 11. 



fyffe's mode of striking cuttings. 



pebbles; e is a layer of peat earth 

 or moss, and d a covering of sand. 

 This kind of pot is very useful for all 

 cuttings that are liable to damp off, 

 as the water trickles down through 

 the pebbles ; and if the pot be placed 

 in bottom heat, the hot vapour rises 

 through the pebbles in the same way, 

 without burning the roots. 



The following are the principal 

 kinds of plants propagated by cuttings, 

 divided into classes, each of which re- 

 quires a different treatment : — Soft 

 wooded greenhouse plants, such as 

 Geraniums, Fuchsias, Brugmansias, 

 Petunias, Verbenas, Tiopseolums, 

 Maurandyas, &c. These may have cut- 

 tings taken off in spring, or at almost 



any period during summer, and planted 

 in sandy soil, with or without a glass 

 over them, and with or without bottom 

 heat. They may be considered as 

 the easiest of all cuttings to strike, 

 the principal art consisting in cutting 

 the shoot across, through, or imme- 

 diately under the joint, with a clean 

 cut, preserving a few of the leaves on, 

 and making the lower end of the cut- 

 ting quite firm in the sandy soil in 

 which it is planted. In the summer 

 time, such cuttings may be planted 

 in the free soil ; and at other seasons, 

 in order to admit of protection, in 

 pots. In whichever mode they are 

 planted, they must be kept in the 

 shade, and in a uniform state in re- 

 gard to moisture, till they have begun 

 to grow. Their growing is an indica- 

 tion of their having taken root, when 

 they should be taken up, and each 

 planted in a separate pot. 



Hard -wooded greenhouse plants, 

 such as Camellias, Myrtles, evergreen 

 Acacias, and most Cape and Australian 

 shrubs, with comparatively broad 



CUTTING OF ACACIA ALATA. 



leaves, are a degree or two more diffi- 

 cult to strike than Geraniums and 



