to occur in a sucker than in a layer, or cutting, or graft. As to the roots, they may be more developed upon one side than another in the young tree, and this state of things may continue in the adult; we often observe the same condition in the stumps of the monarchs of our forests, which were never suspected in the day of their glory and pride of having such a fault. But such a condition of roots is not essential to the sucker, which may be made to have as fine a system of lateral roots, and as evenly and regularly distributed as those of a seedling tree. Another objection to this mode of propagation has much truth and some force; that is, that suckers are very apt to produce suckers again. This is particularly the case with the Morello cherry, which is a favorite stock, upon which to work many of the choice varieties. As an offset to this it may be urged, that the small fibrous roots, which are supposed to conduce to early fruitfulness, abound in trees propagated by this means, and this may be the reason why the fruit trees that have been thus multiplied, are very generally remarkable for their precocious fruiting. Some of the apples that have been long increased in this manner, bear so early, and so bountifully, as to prevent them from ever forming very large trees; they often have a stunted appearance, and not infrequently present a peculiar inequality upon the bark, portions being swollen or enlarged like warts—from which, in some cases, it is easy to force out shoots or sprouts; they are indeed true gemmules like those of the old olive trees, and like them might be used for the propagation of the variety; a similar condition, no doubt, exists in the roots, whence the tendency to sucker. The common Morello cherry; the Damson; the Chickasas, and other varieties of plum; the blackberry, and many raspberries, are multiplied almost exclusively in a similar manner.
Layers are portions of the branches of a plant that have been induced to throw out roots, and which can thus set up an independent existence if removed from the parent tree. This mode of propagation is a very natural one, and was probably an accidental discovery. In its traits, it is the reverse of the mode we have just been considering. Here the branch emits roots, instead of the root emitting branches, as in the case of the sucker. Layering is frequently resorted to as a mode of propagation, it is very simple, easily performed, and, with some species, very certain in its results. Some plants will root readily if merely placed in contact with the ground, or very slightly covered with soil; others require some artificial interference, such as ringing, or twisting, or slitting. The raspberry, known as the Rubus occidentalis or Black-cap, belongs to the first class, and it even places itself in contact with the soil by recurving its branches so as to bring the tips to the earth, where they strike root, and make new plants. The grape comes under the second category, needing only a little assistance, and it is multiplied to a considerable extent in this manner. In the spring, the vines are laid out in a little shallow trench, and pegged down closely; as the buds burst, they throw up shoots which are trained vertically by tying them to sticks, and as soon as these shoots have acquired a certain degree of maturity and firmness, the mellow earth is drawn up to them and they emit a beautiful system of roots, and by the fall they form very fine plants, (fig. 3). The layered branch is then taken up and the several plants are separated, when it will be found that the best roots are chiefly from the lower joints of the new wood, rather than from the old canes that were laid down in the spring.
Fig. 3.—PROPAGATING THE GRAPE BY LAYERING.
Fig. 4.—LAYERING THE QUINCE.
Fig. 5.—STOOL LAYERING THE QUINCE.
Quinces are considerably increased by a sort of layering, as the twigs emit roots very freely; they are often bent down, slightly twisted, or not, as the case may be, and covered with mellow soil, when they readily emit roots, become firmly established, and may be set out by themselves, (fig. 4). There is, however, another method of layering, much practiced in the multiplication of the quince; that called propagation by stools. The plants are set in open rows, four feet wide, and three or four feet apart in the rows; they should be so planted as to stand below the general surface, that is in trenches. When cut off at the ground in the spring, they throw up a great number of shoots, and the earth is gradually worked up to these to encourage their rooting, (see figure 5), which is often sufficient for removal the first season; if, on inspection, the roots are not found to be sufficiently large or abundant, the earthing is continued until the autumn of the next year, when they are removed, the stools trimmed of their lower roots, and reset in new trenches. The plants, thus raised from stools, are cut back severely, and are then ready to set out in nursery rows for budding. With the quince, cultivated in this manner, nothing is required but to accumulate the mellow earth about the shoots; but in many plants it is necessary to notch the wood by splitting, or cutting it for an inch or two, (as in fig. 6), making a tongue that separates from the lower portion of the shoot, and from which the roots are emitted. This slit should be commenced just below a bud, and the knife is drawn upward, cutting halfway through the wood. If commenced at one side instead of at the depending portion, the tongue is more sure to be separated from the stock, to which it might otherwise reunite. To insure rooting, some persons insert a little stick or chip between the separated portions, to prevent a re-union of the parts. The shoot, after being notched, is fastened down, and fine soil or compost is brought about it to encourage the development of roots. Few of the hard wooded fruit trees have been extensively propagated by means of layers; they might be so produced, but it has not been found profitable nor necessary.
Fig. 6.—MANNER OF CUTTING AND PEGGING DOWN A LAYER.
A very common opinion prevails that layering exhausts the mother plant, or vine, which is used in this mode of propagating. If properly conducted, there is no reason why this should be; but if the whole top of any plant is bent down and made to take root, and to form independent roots, there can be little or no return from the branches to the original stock to strengthen it. A certain amount of healthy growing wood should always be left in its natural position, and no danger to the plant need be apprehended.
The wood growth of the strawberry, when allowed to take its natural bent, is directed into the stolons or runners, which form natural layers. Their production detracts from the central wood-growth of the plant, and exhausts its strength to such a degree, that it often dies, whereas, by a constant removal of the runners, as fast as they appear, we practice a sort of summer pruning or pinching, which results in the production of a large branching stool, with many points or centers for the production of foliage and flowers, and thus insure the greatest abundance of fruit. The strawberry, like one species of the raspberry, and many other of our native plants, offers illustrations of natural layering.
Seeds.—The most common as well as the most natural mode of multiplying the individual plants of most of our fruit trees, is by sowing the seed; from this source we procure stocks upon which are worked, by budding or grafting, the several varieties we may desire to propagate. As an illustration of this process, I propose to speak of apple seedlings.
The almost universal means of increasing the number of apple trees, is by sowing the seed. This is generally selected and separated from the fresh pomace left on the press in cider-making. The old and slow process of hand-washing has given way, in this age of labor-saving machinery, to more economical methods. The most approved apparatus is constructed upon the principle of separating the seeds from the pulp by means of their greater specific gravity; it is, indeed, much like a gold washer, being a series of boxes or troughs through which a current of water is made to flow; this carries the lighter portions away from the seeds, the contents of the boxes being agitated from time to time. At the close of the process, the clean seed is found in the bottoms of the boxes, whence it is removed and carefully dried, by putting it in an airy place, and stirring it frequently to prevent mildew and fermentation. Well prepared seed is plump and bright, and should feel cold to the hand. When the pips are broken, they should be white and clear within; but the best test of their quality, is to sprout a portion, and count the plants produced by a given number of seeds.
Sowing.—The
