254 



ON PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. 



intelligent gardener, are generally made quite short, not exceeding one inch, 

 one inch and half, or two inches in length ; in order that the whole of the 

 leaves which are left on may be supplied with food, and have their energies 

 brought into action. The lower leaves of a cutting, when they can be kept 

 on, have more influence on the formation of roots than the upper ones, 

 because they expose a larger surface to the action of light ; and hence, when 

 from their long petioles, or any other cause, they are not likely to rot, they 

 should always be kept on. The leaves which are small and closely set, 

 such as those of Erica, Brunia, &c., when covered with soil, soon begin to 

 rot, and endanger the cutting, and they ought therefore to be taken oflF. 

 This ought always to be done with a very sharp-pointed pair of scissors, and 

 the greatest possible care should be taken not to lacerate the bark by the 

 operation, or to bruise the end of the cutting in cutting it across with a knife. 

 The cuttings of Pelargoniums, on the other hand, may be of any length and 

 covered with leaves ; but short cuttings make the handsomest plants. 



581. In taking off a cutting^ regard should be had to the healing of the 

 section left on the plant, and therefore the cut ought to be made upwards 

 or outwards, so as to leave a smooth unfractured section that will speedily 

 heal over. The lower end of the shoot taken off in this case will be 

 more or less fractured, and must therefore be cut a second time. The 

 cut on the lower end of the cutting should be made with a very sharp 

 knife, so as not to crush in any degree the vessels of the shoot, and thereby 

 prevent them from cicatrizing, and forming a callosity. The cut should 

 not be made through the joint, because the roots seldom proceed from 

 the joint itself, but rather from its base, 

 beneath the point of insertion of the pe- 

 tiole of the leaf. Shoots that have oppo- 

 site leaves should be taken off by cutting 

 across at a right angle with the direc- 

 tion of the shoot, either immediately 

 under the base of the petiole, or where 

 its combined vessels distinctly reach 

 the stem. Shoots that have alternate 

 leaves should have the knife inserted 

 on the opposite side of the bud, under 

 the node, and the cut should be per- 

 formed in a slanting upward direc- 

 tion from the base, or under that of 

 the point of the insertion of the leaf, 

 so as to convey away its combined vessels 

 in as perfect a state as possible, which 

 producesthe same effect as when a lateral 

 shoot is torn off and then cut clean. 

 This practice is found very successful 

 with many cuttings, such as those of 

 camellias, banksias, and similar plants. 

 The lower ends of stout cuttings of 

 plants somewhat difficult to strike, such 

 as the Orange, are sometimes cut direct ^»^- '66. Prepared cutting of a shaddock. 

 across, so as to rest on the bottom of the pot, and sometimes they are in 



