CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - ZetaTalk

PROPAGA TIOA’ B,- ME.4N.9 ffk’ C’IJTTINGS 93permeable. Damping-off is less liable to occur iii such materialthan in denser soils. The same advantages are to someextent. present in sphagnum tnoss and coconut fiber, both ofwhich are sometitnes used in place of earth. The ” silver sand”used by florists is a very cllean and white sand, which derivesits partic&r advatitagcs from t.he almost entire absence ofvegetable mat ten’ ; but it is not now r~onsidered so essentialto suc’ct5sfnl propagation as it, was formerly, and fully as goodtnateriul may often be found itt a common sand-bank.(‘uttings that strike strongly and vigorously may be placedin a soil tnade of light garden loam with twice its bulk of sandadded to it. All soils used for indoor work should be siftedor srreenecl before using, to bring t.hctn t-0 a uniform texture.Hardwood dormant ~~utt~itigs are cotnrnotil~~ planted outdoorsin mellow and light garden loam, well trenched. Only fineand well-rotted manure should be applied to the cutting-bed,at-d it should be well rnixecl with t,ltcb cart,lt. In most cases,a well-drained soil givc5 best results, bitt sotrie cuttitigs rootand grow well in wlct soils, or WCJII in st~attding water, as poplars,willows, some of the dogwoods, the plane-tree and others.In fact, certain cuttings tnay be rooted in glasses of water, asof the oleander.‘I‘lw sttikiny of clittilzWhen cuttitlgs emit roots and begin to grow, the gardenersays that they “ strike” or are “ struck.” The striking ofcuttings is the suc~~~ful rooting of them. The formationof root-s is influenced by the way in which the cutting is made,tlte earth or other mediutn itt which it is set, the temperatureil.ll(.l moisture conditions, and other factors.As a rule, roots arise most readily from a joint, and it is acommon practice, therefore, to cut the base of the cutting justbelow a bud, as shown in the grape cutting, Fig. 98. Sometimesthe ctliting is seI.ered at its point of attachment to theys