Sharp County record., 1882-08-24
The Propagation of Plants by Cutting.

| Inc COnQlUlOnS r6qulIeu lOT pIOpdSdU-
ing plants by cuttings or slips are very
nearly the same, as far as temperature
and soil 90, as are found to give the best
results in raising from seeds. In fact,
it makes but little difference what the
soil is for roofing cuttings, provided it
is porous. We have experimental with
nearly everything, and find there is lit
tie choice, although it is our practice to
use ordinary building sand, as it is
cleaner to work with than anything
else, and when watered never gets mud
DIV, as heavier soil would do. But do
not suppose for minute that sand is
indispensable to the roofing of cuttings,
for if the conditions of temperature are
right, and the condition of the cuttings
is right, they will root in almost any ma
terial in which they are placed. The
temperature required is very similar to
that in which seeds should be germiD-
ated If of hardy mixture, they will
do nicely in a temperature averaging
sixty degrees, but if of a tender or trop-
ioal nature then the temperature should
not average less than seventy-tive de-
grees. For example, you can very easi-
ly root cuttings of Geraniums, Roses,
Verbenas, PetuniaS, Carnations and
others of what are known as "green-
house plants in a temperature averag-
ing sixty degrees; but if we attempt to
root Coleus, Bouvardias, Begonias and
other plants whose nature is tropical at
that temperature, they will be almost
certain to fail, and success can only be
complete at a temperature ranging from
seventy to eighty degrees. Much de-
pends on the condition of the cutting. |
believe | was the first to introduce what
is known as the swapping condition OF
the cutting. That is. when the shoot
of Verbena, Geranium, Fuchsia, Be-
gonia, Stevia or plants of that character,
is bent, if it breaks or snaps clean of
then it is in the proper condition for
roofing; if it bends it is not. Not that
the bent cutting would not root, but that
it would take longer to root, and make
feebler plant when it did root than
one that had the proper conditions for
the forming of roots.
Florists use what are called propagat-
ing benches for roofing cuttings when
wanted on large scale, as they usually
are by them; but when an ameteur not
having greenhouse facilities wishes to
root few slips, there is no process that
we can recommend better than what is
known as "the saucer system" which,
even at the risk of telling it to some OF
your readers who already underestimate,
must again repeat, as there is no other
plan that is so simple and so safe. Take
any common saucer or plate, into which
put sand to the depth of an inch or so.
Then prepare the cuttings in the usual
manner and place them in the sand close
enough to touch each other. The sand
is then to be watered so as to bring it
into the condition of mud. The saucer
thus filled with slips may be placed on
the window-sill and exposed to the sun.
The cuttings must be fully exposed to
the sun and never shaded. But one
condition is absolutely essential to sue
cess; until the cuttings take root the
sand must be kept continually saturated
with water, and always in the condition
of mud TO do this the slips must be
watered at least once day with a very
fine rose watering pot, and the watering
must be done very gently, else the cut
tings may be washed out. There is ev-
cry certainty that ninety-nine per cent.
of the cuttings put in will take root, pro-
vided they were in the proper condition
when placed in the saucer, and that the
temperature has not been lower than
sixty degrees for greenhouse plants, or
less than eighty degrees for tropical
plants. By the saucer system higher
degree of temperature may be main
tanned without injury than by any other
system of propagation, as the cuttings
in reality are placed in water, and will
not wilt provided the water is not al
lowed to dry out. Still, the tender slip
until rooted will not endure long con-
tinuation of very high temperature. and
we would advise that propagation be
done at such seasons that they may have
as near as possible uniform tempera-
ture of seventy-five or eighty degrees in
the sunlight. When rooted they should
be potted in dry soil, such as is recon-
mended for sowing seeds in. They
should be placed in pots not exceeding
two and half inches in diameter and
treated carefully by shading and water
inc for two or three days. s.--Peter Hen
dersOn, IN Ladies' Floral Cabinet.
<>