118 



MANUAL OF GARDENING 



by cold and wet, may be planted after the ground is settled and 

 warm at a greater depth than before that season. As a rule, 

 nothing is gained by sowing tender seeds before the weather is 

 thoroughly settled and the ground warm. 



Propagating by cuttings. 



Many common plants are propagated by cuttings rather than 

 by seeds, particularly when it is desired to increase a particular 

 variety. 



Cuttings are parts of plants inserted in soil or water with the 

 intention that they shall grow and make new plants. They are 

 of various kinds. They may be classified, with reference to 

 the age of the wood or tissue, into two classes; viz. those made 

 from perfectly hard or dormant wood (taken from the winter 

 twigs of trees and bushes), and those made from more or less 

 immature or growing wood. They may be classified again in 

 respect to the part of the plants from which they are taken, as 

 root-cuttings, tuber-cuttings (as the ordinary ''seed" planted 

 for potatoes), stem-cuttings, and leaf-cuttings. 



Dormant stem-cuttings. 



Dormant-wood cuttings are used for grapes (Fig. 122), 

 currants, gooseberries, willows, poplars, and many other kinds of 

 soft-wooded trees and shrubs. Such cuttings are ordinarily 

 n taken in fall or winter, but cut into 



made with two to four joints or buds, and when they are 



the proper lengths and then buried in 

 sand or moss where they do not freeze, 

 in order that the lower end may heal 

 over or callous. In the spring these 

 cuttings are set in the ground, pref- 

 erably in a rather sandy and well- 

 drained place. 



122. The planting of the 

 dormant-wood cuttings. 



Usually, hardwood cuttings are 



