17 



no moisture, the woody part, is the only 

 part which does imbibe moisture ; and 

 that part of the root which is univer- 

 sally believed to be the only part which 

 does imbibe moisture, the unripe ends or 

 fibres, is the only part which does not 

 imbibe moisture. 



That trees imbibe from any part which 

 is exposed to moisture is evident from the 

 growth of cuttings, which have no root, 

 old or young. 



In the hot climate and on the arid hill- 

 sides of Spain the olive is propagated by 

 cuttings. These cuttings are old branches 

 seven feet in length. One end of such a 

 cutting is buried about eighteen inches in 

 a pit, and concrete earth or clay is raised, 

 like a pillar, around it, so that, at the 

 upper end, only about eight or ten 

 inches of the cutting is exposed to the 

 atmosphere. Thus excretion of mois- 

 ture is prevented, and secretion of mois- 

 ture takes place, throughout about six 



B 



