THE STOVE. 



19 



to flag before used. To prepare them for insertion, most ot 

 the leaves must be trimmed off close to the stem, leaving only 

 a few at the top, to allow a free respiration of air, so neces- 

 sary to the life of the plant. This is a most essential article 

 in the art of making cuttings, particularly those of evergreens ; 

 for if they be deprived entirely of their leaves, or that they 

 otherwise flag, or occasionally fall off soon after they are put 

 in, there will be little or no chance of their growing. The 

 reason is obvious, because the inherent sap of the cutting being 

 deprived of these organs of respiration that keep it in motion, 

 and the cutting having no roots, by the efforts of which to pro- 

 duce new leaves, the sap consequently becomes stagnated in 

 the pores of the wood ; which, like the stagnation of the blood 

 in animals, will, in all likelihood, prove mortal, by occasioning 

 an immediate mortification." In preparing the cuttings, and 

 inserting them, he observes : "In shortening each cutting to 

 the most convenient length, care must be taken to do it with 

 a clean cut, in a transverse direction, at a joint, and by no 

 means should they be left exposed, or to lie any considerable time 

 before planting. In planting, a small dibble, or other conve- 

 nient instrument, should be used to press the loam sufficiently 

 tight to the base of the cutting, as that is the principal part to 

 be made fast. As soon as the whole are inserted, and the 

 surface of the mould made level, and a little firm, give them 

 a gentle watering to settle them ; they should be left to soak 

 about a quarter of an hour, and then covered with a bell-glass, 

 which should be pressed pretty tight, so as perfectly to exclude 

 the outward air. The atmospheric air being prevented by the 

 glass from exhaling any of the juices of the plant, all its powers 

 are forced downwards to produce roots, and these will soon 

 prove their existence by producing young leaves and branches. 

 If there be several cuttings of the same sort, they may be all 

 put in one pot, unless they happen to be very large or curious 

 sorts ; but, in general, each species should be kept in a separate 

 one, on account of the difference of time that some of them 

 require to strike roots, and also that any scarce or valuable 

 kind should be put only one in a small pot, as they are then 

 not liable to be injured so much by damp, neither do they 



