ON PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. 



253 



degree of forcing. The advantage of taking off cuttings in spring is, that 

 they can be well rooted before winter, and that as the days are then lengthen- 

 ing, and the solar heat increasing, less artificial heat is required ; whereas when 

 cuttings of growing shoots are made in autumn, artificial heat, or at least 

 protection from frost, is required during winter, and the want of light and 

 the presence of damp at that season often occasions their death. 



579. Preparation of the cutting. Before the cutting is taken from the 

 plant, the propagator should determine in his mind the length which will be 

 most suitable. In the case of fruit shrubs, such as the gooseberry, a long 

 cutting is desirable in order that the bush may be raised from the ground, so 

 that its fruit may be kept clean ; but in the case of shrubs which are allowed 

 to form suckers, as the honeysuckle, or of trees which are to be formed by 

 training up a single stem from the cutting, as the poplar, the length is of 

 less consequence ; though the larger the cutting is the greater the quantity 

 of nourishment which it contains for the buds. The length of cuttings made 

 with the leaves on depends partly on the number of leaves which the 

 cutting will support, and partly on the proportion of firm wood which is 

 required on the lower end of the cutting, which varies in different plants, 

 and can only be ascertained by experience. Jn the case of some cuttings 

 which are difficult to strike, such as those of the orange tribe and the 

 camellia, the cutting is made of such a length as that its lower extremity 

 may touch the bottom of the pot, or of a sandstone placed there, or even 

 a mass of sand. The use of the contact with the pot does not appear to be 

 altogether understood, though it is probable from the fibres of plants always 

 clinging to porous stones within their reach, that the pores may contain 

 aqueous or gaseous matter in a state more acceptable to the spongioles than 

 common soil. 



580. The number of leaves which are left upon the cutting, " The number 

 of leaves which are left upon the cutting has much to do with the success 

 of the propagator. When we take a cutting from its parent tree, we 

 deprive it of the supply of nourishment which it formerly received ; but 

 notwithstanding this, its leaves, being still acted upon by the atmosphere, give 

 out the moisture which they contain, and have drawn from the vessels of 

 the plant which supplied them before the separation took place. If we 

 could by artificial means still supply the leaves with this nourishment, the 

 best plan would be to leave the whole of them on the cuttings, to 

 elaborate sap, and send down roots for their more complete support. 

 But we cannot do this, and therefore we must only allow as many 

 leaves to remain upon the cutting, as we can supply with nourishment. 

 Any one may convince himself of the truth of these remarks by the 

 following simple experiment : — Take such a plant as Petunm violacea for 

 example ; make one pot of cuttings from it nine inches long, and let all the 

 leaves remain upon them ; make another set three inches, and allow only 

 three or four of the top leaves to remain ; water both pots well, and place 

 them side by side in a, damp frame. The difference will soon be apparent — 

 those cuttings with all the leaves left on them will soon flag, while the 

 others will scarcely be affected, and will go on performing their functions. 

 This wiU be particularly apparent if the cuttings, from carelessness, 

 or any other cause, are neglected. (i?. F. in Gard. Chron. for 1841, 

 p. 467.) The cuttings of Cape Heaths and such like plants, observes the same 



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