UTILITY OF SAND IN STRIKING CUTTINGS.

Patea Mail, 15 May 1882, Page 4

UTILITY OF SAND IN STRIKING CUTTINGS.

The great utility' of sand in. striking cuttings of any kind ia not so; .generally understood as it should be by amateur gardeners. An Engliah Amateur writing to a journal says, “ Jn the garden of A. R. Bally,T was lately shown what was to me a novel mode of striking roses. Some cuttings were taken off and made about two months and immediately buried’ in sand in a box and placed in : a shed. A layer of sand was first placed in the box, then a layer of' cuttings, another layer, of sand, and then another layer of cuttings, till the box was filled up. and all the cuttings out of sight. The sand was merely kept from getting dust-dry and that is all. :I examined several of the cuttings and found them all calluaed and ready to emit roots, which I have no doubt they would speedily do were they inserted where they , could be shaded for a time. Mr Daily’s gardener told me that the idea was taken from an American paper, in which the writer stated also that he had inserted pear buds on quince shoots before burying them- in the same way, and that on uncovering them the buds had taken and the cuttings callused.” To this.raaj'be added a general commendation of the plan of call using cutting by laying them in a heap of clean sharp sand. Scions of fruit treesfor grafting should be thus laid up to their tips ; some cuttings also of approved kinds can be kept in fine order for planting or grafting until the proper season comes round. At this season of the cuttings of variegated cypress, biotas, pines, and any of their allies which cannot be propagated true from seed or of which seed is not obtainable, can bs struck in the manner indicated, only that instead of keeping the sand-heap in ashed, we would place it in the southern side of a wall or garden fence. All the myrtle tribe proper and their near relations, the Eugenias and Acmenas, may be thus readily raised.' The great point is. not to expose any large proportion of the cutting ; put at least three-fourths of it underground. When seed of Pinus insignia and others has chanced to be scarce, cuttings have been resorted to in this colony with perfect success.