352 



HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



the clematis, honeysuckle, Wistaria, &c, propa- 

 gate readily by this means : the branches being 

 trained along the surface of the ground, strike 

 root at every eye or joint, but are made to do 

 so usually at every alternate joint ; and some of 

 them, like the bramble, will emit roots from 

 the growing point, if inserted in the soil to the 

 depth of an inch ; and the same mode has been 

 practised with the common gooseberry. Roses, 

 for the most part, are multiplied by layering, 

 the operation being performed during spring or 

 autumn, and sometimes at both seasons in the 

 same year. The supply of plum and paradise 

 stocks for grafting or budding fruit-trees on 

 is procured by a species of layering, consisting 

 merely in spreading out the branches on the 

 surface of the ground, pegging them down early 

 in spring, and covering them entirely, excepting 

 the very points, with soil to the depth of half 

 an inch. During summer, every bud sends up 

 a shoot and produces roots at its base, forming 

 by autumn a perfect plant, which is then cut off 

 and transferred to nursery lines. The vine is 

 often, in nurseries, propagated by bending down 

 the shoots, and laying them in pots plunged in 

 the ground ; but this is by no means a process 

 to be recommended, as vine-plants so produced 

 are seldom well rooted. — ( Vide art. Vine.) 

 Many rare plants, difficult to increase other- 

 wise, are laid in pots suspended so as to admit 

 of their being either bent within the circum- 

 ference of the pot, or introduced through the 

 drainage-hole in its bottom ; and sometimes the 

 Chinese practice is followed, of forming balls of 

 earth, covered with moss, around the branch, 

 and supporting it there until roots are formed 

 in the mass. 



The season for performing the operation ex- 

 tends nearly over the whole year. Hardy trees 

 and shrubs are usually operated upon in spring, 

 before the ascent of the sap, or delayed until 

 the sap is pretty well up, towards the middle of 

 summer. In nurseries where propagation is 

 carried on to a large extent, very many of the 

 hardy trees and shrubs are layered during 

 autumn and winter. With plants in the arti- 

 ficial atmosphere of a hot-house the case is 

 different, and hence the operation may be per- 

 formed at such times as the plant is found to 

 be in a fit condition, irrespective of the above 

 seasons. The best condition for the shoot to 

 be in, is when that part of it where the sap is to 

 be interrupted, whether by tonguing, ringing, 

 notching, twisting, slitting, piercing, or bending, 

 is somewhat mature, or what is called half- 

 ripened. The shoots most proper to select are 

 those in a healthy vigorous state of growth ; 

 and the most improper, such as are stunted, 

 diseased, or imperfectly formed. Old wood will 

 root in time, but neither so soon nor with the 

 same certainty as half-ripened wood, because 

 the flow of the sap is more sluggish in the for- 

 mer than in the latter. 



The operation of layering is thus performed in 

 general practice : The ground around the stool 

 or parent plant, presuming it to be growing in 

 the open ground, is loosened carefully, and if 

 dry, moderately watered ; the shoots intended 

 to be laid are then selected individually. If, as 



in the case of the rose or similar shrubs, only 

 each shoot is to become a new plant, an incision 

 is made on the under side of the shoot, and a 

 few inches from its base ; the top of the shoot 

 is gently bent upwards, both with a view to give 

 the future plant an upright direction in growth, 

 and also to keep open the incision, particularly 

 when tongued. In this position it is let into a 

 slit formed in the soil, the part where the in- 

 cision is made being the point of connection 

 between the descending portion of the layer 

 (which is to be removed after rooting has 

 taken place), and the upright portion of the 

 layer which is to constitute the future plant ; 

 the earth is then firmed about the shoot, which 

 so far completes the operation. In layering, a 

 great error is often committed by inserting the 

 part to be rooted too deeply in the ground, and 

 this is often done to save the trouble of pegging 

 them down with a hooked stick. From 3 to 6 

 inches is the proper depth for layers of trees or 

 shrubs ; but even this must be regulated by 

 their size and age. The shoots of the previous 

 season's growth are the most proper for this 

 purpose, although older branches, particularly 

 of soft- wooded trees andshrubs,in extreme cases, 

 may be used : but these require a longer time 

 to root, and often have to be examined ; and 

 when indications of the formation of granulous 

 matter do not appear, fresh incisions should be 

 made to induce this state. Or the suggestion 

 thrown out by Mr Knight may be followed of 

 taking up the layer entirely, and removing a ring 

 of its bark below where the former incision was 

 made, so as completely to prevent the descent 

 of the sap, and thereby force the shoot to em- 

 ploy it in the formation of roots. The part of 

 the layer at which the incision is to be made, 

 should be immediately under a bud or joint, 

 which is the point most favourable for the emis- 

 sion of roots. The depth to which the incision 

 should be made depends much on the nature of 

 the plant, but in ordinary cases it should only 

 penetrate into the alburnum, and not through 

 it, as in the latter case the ascent of the sap 

 would be arrested, and the buds and leaves 

 above it prevented from performing their pro- 

 per functions ; whereas, in the former case, the 

 effect desired will be accomplished, which is to 

 form an impediment to the descending sap, 

 causing it to exude at the wound, and form that 

 granulous matter which is the certain indication 

 of the first formation of roots. There are vari- 

 ous means of causing this interruption to the 

 descending sap — namely, ringing, or removing 

 a ring of bark, wholly or in part, from the 

 layer ; twisting it by bending it at a very 

 acute angle ; cutting a notch out of it ; forming 

 a slit or tongue, kept open by placing in it a 

 small piece of chip or stone ; twisting a piece of 

 wire tightly round it ; boring a hole with a 

 broad awl or gimblet, or driving a nail or peg 

 through it. Several of these practices are suffi- 

 ciently barbarous as well as uncalled for : ring- 

 ing in particular cases, and notching, tonguing, 

 and twisting in ordinary ones, are all that is 

 necessary ; and often a thin slice of bark paired 

 off the side of the layer is found sufficient. The 

 fact of the sap ascending chiefly through the 



