THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
289 
August 8.] 
their bases with the jnth of the shoot, all extension 
upwards into stems and branches must proceed. On 
the other hand, extension downwards in the shape of 
roots proceeds chiefly from cellular matter protruded 
from the base of the cutting, and chiefly from that part 
of it between the liber and alburnum—the part in all 
plants possessing netted-veined leaves where the living 
principle is most active, and where all lateral additions 
iu girth to stem and branches have their origin. 
Where a cutting possesses several joints, it is usual 
to cut it transversely through the lowest one, and for 
these reasons:—First, one or several of the lower leaves 
may thus he removed, and the bud at the base likewise, 
and thus the evaporating surface is reduced, the danger of 
damping-off lessened, and the fastening of the cutting in 
the prepared compost better secured. And, secondly, at 
theso nodes, and especially in the case of all plants with 
hollow stems, there is an accumulation of vital energies, 
so that roots from these parts are sooner produced. The 
other week I mentioned cases where, when the bark or 
skin was getting hard, it is advisable after thus cutting 
through at a joint to run the knife for a short distance up 
its centre, that more cellular matter might thus be ex¬ 
posed, and roots sooner and more abundantly produced. 
J n many cases, however, where the stems are soft, it is not 
necessary to cut to a joint at all; one bud and part of 
the shoot being quite sufficient to form a rooted cutting. 
Mr. Beaton mentioned in the spring how this was done 
with Verbenas ; and I have long practised a similar 
method with bedding Calceolarias —any part of the stem 
rooting freely; and thus time in making the cuttings 
is saved, an increase of a desirable variety sooner 
obtained, and long-legged plants prevented. The same 
thing may be done successfully with a single bud, and 
part of a shoot of many plants, though the wood be in¬ 
durated, as in the case of a vine raised from what is 
termed an eye , and more especially if a part of the 
outside has been cut away, so as to expose a good 
portion of liber and alburnum. Exactly the same 
operations will be here developed as in a cutting with 
many buds; and, therefore, instead of increasing and 
confusing our nomenclature with talking about raising 
plants from buds and eyes, we should term them all 
cuttings, wherever there is a bud and part of the wood, 
however small, connected with it. Striking plants from 
leaves is quite a different thing. There, in most cases, 
fresh buds must be formed by the organisable matter 
protruded at the base of the leaf or its footstalk, before 
any upward extension can take place. Many leaves 
will root very freely, and yet be so loath to form a bud 
from whence a shoot only can come, that—unless in a 
few cases, some of which have already been referred to— 
such experiments are more interesting than useful. 
It will at once be obvious, that the more perfect the 
buds upon a cutting, the sooner will fresh shoots be 
produced, and thus a healthy stubby plant be formed, 
it will also be seen, that the principle involved in 
striking cuttings of plants is identical, whether they be 
hardy or tender, deciduous or evergreen, hard or soft 
wooded, possessing ripened shoots from whence the 
leaves have fallen, or shoots still growing and possessing 
healthy leaves, performing the functions of absorption, 
perspiration, and respiration. But the mode of working 
out that principle must be as varied as the circum¬ 
stances. Thus, when a plant is very succulent in its 
nature we expose it to heat and light, give less water, 
and even partially dry the cutting before inserting it, 
lest there should be danger of tbo soft matter rotting 
and damping instead of forming roots. Again, if 
the shoots would be too hard, as would often be the 
case with Heaths, Epacrises, &c., we place them in a 
close warmish place until fresh growth is made, and nip 
the little bits off when they are neither so hard as to 
render rooting difficult, nor yet so soft as to render 
damping and rotting likely. Thus, again, well- 
ripened shoots and green growing ones must be 
treated differently. In the one case, such as in the 
well-ripened shoot of a gooseberry or a vine—though 
the former may bo inserted as a cutting out of doors 
and the latter in a hotbed—comparative little attention 
will be required for either, provided too many buds are 
not left to grow, as each cutting possesses in itself a 
stock of elaborated nutritious matter, which, when acted 
upon by the stimuli of moisture and heat, &c., will 
cause a nearly simultaneous pushing out of roots in the 
soil, and of shoots from the buds. By the manner in 
which we apply these exciting agents we may generally 
get roots in advance of the shoots, or the contrary, just 
as we please. But when we take a green growing 
shoot of any of these, or of a greenhouse or stove plant 
(for, with the exception of the difference in temperature 
needed, our necessary attentions otherwise will be simi¬ 
lar), we have got no highly elaborated matter in the 
cutting to fall back upon—its tissues will be soft, its 
juices thin and gross, and to succeed with it we must 
aim at giving it some of the same properties it would 
have enjoyed if left upon its mother plant. Expose it 
with its leaves to light and' air, and the quick perspira¬ 
tion of its juices causes it quickly to die of starvation. 
Absorption of moisture merely by the lower end will do 
but little to arrest such a result. Shade it altogether 
from light; and if you prevent perspiration from the 
leaves, you also prevent the assimilation of fresh elabo¬ 
rated matter to the cutting, and retard the process of 
rooting, until very likely, though your leaves be freshish, 
tbo stem becomes so attenuated that it cannot keep 
itself upright, and failure is generally the result. Hence, 
when we make such a cutting we insert it in light soil, 
well drained, so that moisture when communicated shall 
not stagnate about its lower end and cause the soft 
tissuesto rot; we cover it with a bell-glass or hand- 
light, not only to keep out the air, but to obtain an 
atmosphere well saturated with moisture, so that not 
merely the lower end of the cutting but the stem and 
the leaves may have the opportunity of absorbing as 
well as perspiring; we shade in bright sunshine, because 
then otherwise the perspiring powers would exceed the 
absorbing, and the assimilation of carbon, or fresh solid 
matter, would be too quick for its peculiar position; but 
knowing that the maturing principle and the addition 
of fresh matter to the cutting (without which, in such, 
circumstances, we have little hopes of success) can only 
be obtained by the elaborating processes effected by the 
leaves in sunlight, we remove the shading during the 
morning and evening, and ultimately at mid-day as soon 
as it will stand it; and knowing, in addition, that the 
close atmosphere has a tendency to expand the cutting 
upwards, while we chiefly want it at first to root down¬ 
wards; even before we venture to give#air during the 
day we do so during the night, and also evening and 
morning—first by raising the glass with a pebble or pot¬ 
sherd a little on one side, and then removing it altoge¬ 
ther, but replacing it before the sun strikes it until it 
has rooted. By keeping the cuttings at a distance from 
the glass in pots, giving them diffused instead of direct 
light, I have been enabled, in most cases, to dispense 
with shading altogether. Of course the cuttings are 
expiosed to direct light as soon as the rooting process is 
going on, either by elevating them or removing the 
glass. 
If what I have stated be correct, then we may see :— 
First, that having a bud at the base of a cutting is 
not necessary for the protrusion of roots, as some gar¬ 
dening writers state. On the contrary, unless in the 
case of plants that form tubers, it is a disadvantage, as 
that bud is as likely to grow upwards as any of the rest, 
and, therefore, will furnish you with ground-shoots in¬ 
stead of having a plant with a clear nice stem. Cutting 
