436 
THE MAGNOLIA, ITS VARIETIES AND CULTIVATION. 
therefore kept in pots until planted out where 
they are to remain. The best time for layer- 
ing is the autumn, but it will do in any of the 
months until February. Let the wood of the 
branch to be layered be notched or slit just 
below a joint or leaf, and pegged down 
securely underground ; by the next autumn 
they will have rooted well, when they must 
be cut off just below the notched part, potted 
in the usual compost, and the pots plunged ; 
for that is the best protection against the frost 
reaching the roots. The tops may be hooped 
or otherwise protected, so as to admit of 
throwing mats over them during frosts. Many 
of the nurseries have pits built on purpose for 
these subjects, which are hardy when well 
established, but tender until they have 
abundance of root and have completely re- 
covered their strength. The China sorts are 
inarched, grafted, and budded on Magnolia 
purpurea, according to the fancy of the pro- 
pagator, there being no great difference in the 
plant when done, and circumstances only giving 
a preference as to the mode ; for instance, in- 
arching enables us to make a larger plant at 
once, than either common grafting or budding, 
and that may be a more desirable object than 
the advantages derived from either of the latter 
modes. The quantity of wood that may be 
required to make one good plant the first 
season by inarching, w^ould do for half-a-dozen 
or more grafts, and perhaps a score buds, so 
that where, as in a nursery, numbers are the 
object, the latter plans are decidedly best, but 
in a private garden, where a duplicate plant is 
wanted as quickly and as handsomely formed 
as we can get it, we select from the plant we 
intend to increase, one of the branches that 
will make the best plant without damage to 
the original, and then getting a good strong 
stock, we have to place the two plants and 
fix them where neither can be disturbed, 
and where also the two can be so tied as to 
remain fixed without any violence to the one 
or the other. Then pare off one side of 
the branch to be inarched, so that it may have 
a flat surface for a length of two or three 
inches, and cut the side of the stock flat also, 
and fit them together so that the bark of each 
touches that of the other ; bind them round 
firmly, so that they do not move, and they 
must afterwards not be disturbed till they are 
fairly united, which they will be in a few 
weeks. It very often happens that the stock 
and the branch to be inarched are not of the 
same size, and that therefore they cannot be 
made to fit very well. In this case, take care 
that the barks fit on one side, however much 
one may fall short of the other on the opposite 
side. The smaller of the two should not be 
put in the middle of the other, so that the 
bark on neither side touches, for if they were 
so fixed, it would be impossible for them to 
unite. Let this, therefore, be attended to 
particularly ; for when the edges of the barks 
of both graft and stock are in contact at the 
cut part, it is enough to ensure the union of 
the parts, and the smaller branch will soon 
cover the larger space, however deficient it 
was when first put on. Of the various modes 
of grafting, any will do, but the following is 
a favourite mode : — Cut the stock as if for 
inarching, that is, make a flat side to it ; then 
cut the graft, which should be some little 
length, also with a flat side, but not so low as 
the end of the graft ; let these each be what 
is called tongued, that is, a slit cut upwards in 
one and downwards in the other, so that the 
tongues thus formed go into the slits, and it 
holds them together almost without tying. 
They are, however, to be bound round the 
same as any other graft, and the end of the 
graft below the tie is inserted in a bottle of 
water, which is to nourish the graft in part 
till it obtains nourishment from the plant 
itself. This is also a common way of grafting 
with the camellia. The proper season for 
grafting or inarching, is just before the plants 
move to make their growth, for the growing 
season is favourable for the flow of the sap, 
and the consequent ready union of the parts. 
The China sorts may also be raised from 
cuttings, under a bell glass, in the same way as 
any other greenhouse plant, and when struck, 
potted off into small pots, one in the centre 
of each pot ; these must be shifted as soon as 
the pots are filled with roots, and the shift 
should be only one size at a time, because no 
object is gained by rapid growth, and the 
frequent checks throw the plant sooner into 
flower. 
The best way to propagate the hardy sorts 
in any quantity, is to plant a shrubby one in 
a well-sheltered place, with room all round it, 
and to layer every one of the branches that 
can be made to reach the ground. There will 
always be a succession of shoots to lay down 
as fast as others can be rooted and taken off. 
The original plants thus appropriated for pro- 
pagation, are called stocks, and will never be 
fit for any thing else. But they, from their 
habit, become more and more prolific every 
year, for new shoots are thrown up in pro- 
fusion, in consequence of the plant being 
partly relieved from the necessity of supplying 
its numerous branches w4ien they are layered, 
and although you may be only able to lay 
down half a dozen branches the first year, 
there will be a dozen or a score ready for 
layering the second. Some that do not root 
very freely, are kept on two seasons, and 
when there are two seasons of layers, they 
must be distinguished by some mark ; but 
when once you begin to take off layers, you 
