142 PROPAGATION OF TREES FROM BRANCHES AND CUTTINGS. 



XXI. — The Propagation of Fruit-trees and other Trees from 

 Branches and Cuttings. By Mr. James Barnes, C.M.H.S., 

 Gardener to the Baroness Rolle, F.H.S., Bicton, near Honiton. 



(Communicated November 23, 1846.) 



From observation I am inclined to imagine that many kinds of 

 fruit-trees, deciduous ornamental trees, shrubs, and roses, may be 

 propagated from branches and cuttings, a plan which appears to 

 me to be of some importance ; for almost every orchard, planta- 

 tion, shrubbery, and rosary bears witness to some extent that un- 

 suitable stocks for budding and grafting have been selected. 



A circumstance that occurred in the spring of 1 845 served to 

 confirm my opinion, that many trees and plants could be success- 

 fully cultivated from branches and cuttings. During the winter 

 of 1844, a considerable quantity of refuse prunings from the 

 shrubberies, parings of grass edgings, sweepings of walks, and 

 refuse from borders, were accumulated for the purpose of being 

 converted into useful manure by charring. The beginning of 

 February, 1845, was chosen for packing it together for that 

 purpose ; there were from 20 to 25 loads of it, and the greater 

 proportion of it was in a green, moist state, intermixed with a 

 considerable quantity of earth, and therefore it took a consider- 

 able time to char. The weather the whole time was severe 

 frost, with a cutting north-east wind ; nevertheless, the charring 

 went on satisfactorily, and when accomplished, on taking the 

 heap to pieces for the purpose of sifting and storing away the 

 contents in a dry situation, I was delighted to observe at the base 

 of one side of the kiln that a quantity of moss-provins and other 

 rose prunings, together with Jasminum fruticans and branches of 

 other plants, had put forth abundance of beautiful healthy roots. 

 They had been cast upon the kiln at the finish of packing, and 

 had become intermixed with the sweepings and rakings of half- 

 decayed leaves, gritty sand, and other earthy refuse ; others 

 within a few inches of those that had put forth healthy roots 

 were completely charred. The hint thus given I imagined 

 might be turned to a useful account, and it struck me were tanks 

 or gutters erected on a good principle in the open air, so as to 

 afford bottom heat at the desired season, choosing healthy, suitable 

 soil, and placing it on good drainage over those tanks or gutters, 

 that cuttings prepared at a proper season, and inserted methodi- 

 cally in the soil, would strike with success. 



Not having a convenience of this description myself, however, 

 I resolved, when the pruning season of 1845 came round, to 

 select cuttings of various fruit-trees, such as apples, pears, plums, 

 cherries, medlars, peaches, nectarines, apricots, some deciduous 



