ON PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. 



261 



all the kinds mentioned in this and the preceding paragi*aph will root freely, 

 if taken off in the beginning of summer, when the lower end of the cutting 

 is beginning to ripen, and planted in sand, and covered with a hand-glass» 



594:. Cuttings of all the Coniferoe and Taocdcew may be taken off when the 

 lower end of the cutting is beginning to ripen, and planted in sand, with a 

 layer of leaf mould beneath, in pots well drained, in the month of August 

 or September, and kept in a cold frame, from which the frost is completely 

 excluded, till the growing season in spring, when they may be put info a 

 gentle heat. It is not in general necessary to cover these cuttings with bell- 

 glasses. Taxodium is an exception, as it roots best in water. 



595. Cuttings of hardy or half-hardy herbaceous plants, such as pinks, 

 carnations, sweet-williams, wall -flowers, stocks, dahlias, petunias, verbenas, 

 rockets, and in general all herbaceous plants that have stems bearing leaves, 

 I'oot readily in sand under a hand-glass, placed in a shady border, or in a 

 gentle heat, if greater expedition is required. All the cuttings must be cut 

 through close under a joint, or in the case of pinks, carnations, or sweet- 

 williams, the operation of piping may be performed. 



59G. Piping can only be performed with plants having tubular stems, 

 and it is only with a few of these that gardeners 

 are accustomed to practise it. The operation is 

 performed when the plant has flowered, or soon 

 afterwards, when it has nearly completed its 

 gro\Ni;h for the season. The shoot chosen is held 

 firm by the left hand, to prevent the root of the 

 plant from being injured, while with the right 

 the upper portion of the shoot is pulled asunder, 

 one joint above the part held by the left hand. 

 A portion of the shoot is thus separated at the 

 socket formed by tlie axils of the leaves, and 

 the appearance is as in fig. 172. Some propa- 

 gators shorten the leaves before planting, but 

 others leave them as in the figure. The soil 

 in which the pipings are to be planted being 



Fig. 172. 



!. A piping of a pink pre- 

 pared and planted. 



rendered very fine, mixed 

 with sand and then well wa- 

 tered, the pipings are stuck 

 in without the use of a dibber 

 or pricker, and the operation 

 is completed by a second wa- 

 tering, which settles and ren- 

 ders firm the soil at the lower 

 end of the piping. 



597. Cuttings of soft-wooded 

 greenhouse plants, such as pe- 

 largoniums, fig. 173, fuchsias, 

 fig. 174, brugmansias, mau- 

 randyas, and all other soft- 

 wooded plants, being cut off* 

 where the wood is beginning 



Fig. 173. A cutting of the rose-tcenied pelargonium, prepared 

 and planted. 



