262 



ON PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. 



to ripen, and planted in sand or sandy loam, or sand and peat, root readily, 



with or without a bell or hand- 

 glass, in a shady situation, and in a 

 greenhouse temperature. Cuttings 

 of these and all other soft-wooded 

 plants may be divided into one or 

 more lengths ; it being only essen- 

 tial that there should be two joints, 

 one for burying in the soil to emit 

 roots, and the other kept above 

 the soU. to produce a shoot. The 

 cuttings of soft-wooded plants 

 which root best, are laterals, which 

 are of average strength. 

 598. Cuttings of hardwooded green- 

 Fig. 174. A cuttin, of a fuchsia prepared andplanted. ^^^^^ pl^nts^SUch^S Camellias,myr- 



tie, evergreen acacias, and most Cape and Aus- 

 tralian shrubs with comparatively broad leaves, 

 are more difficult to root than soft-wooded 

 greenhouse plants. The cuttings are made 

 from the points of the shoots, after the spring 

 growth has been completed, and before the 

 young wood is thoroughly ripened. If put in 

 in Febi-uary or March, such cuttings will be 

 fit to transplant in July or August. Some- 

 times they are put in in autumn, or the 

 beginning of winter, in which case they will 

 not root till the following spring, and must ^ig.m. a cutting of tf,^ young wood of 



be kept cool till that season. In either case, a camelUa, prepared and planted. 



all the leaves must be kept on, except one, or at most two, on the lower 

 end of the cutting, which need not be planted more than an inch in depth, 

 and should in general be covered with a bell-glass. 



599. Cuttings of heath-like plants^ such as Erica, E'pacris, Diosma, Brunia, 

 &c., are among the most difficult to root. They should be taken from the 

 points of the side shoots early in spring, when the plants have nearly ceased 

 growing ; not be more than from an inch to two inches in length, and cut 

 clean across at a joint, and the leaves clipped or cut off for about half an 

 inch upwards from the lower end of the cutting. Thus prepared, they 

 should be planted in pure white sand, with a little peat soil as a substratum, 

 and the whole well drained. The pot should then be covered with a bell- 

 glass, and placed in a frame, or in the front of a greenhouse, and shaded 

 during sunshine. See figs. 167 and 168. 



600. Cuttings of succulent plants, such as Cactuses, Cereuses, Euphorbias, 

 Mesembryanthemums, Crassulas, Stapelias, and the like, require to lie a 

 few days before being planted, in order to dry the wounds; after which they 

 may be inserted in pots containing a mixture of peat, sand, and brick rub- 

 bish, well drained ; after which the pots may be set on the front shelf of 

 a warm greenhouse, and occasionally watered, but shading will be unne- 

 cessary. 



601. Cuttings of the underground stems and roots. A great many plants, 

 both ligneous and herbaceous, may be propagated by cuttings of the under- 

 ground stems, as in the liquorice ; and of the roots, as in the common thornj 



