| Fig. 23. Layering pot. | Fig. 24. Layering cone. |
| Fig. 25. Layering cup. | Fig. 26. Layering cup. |
Fig. 27. Compound layering pot.
The French have various handy devices for facilitating pot layering. [Fig. 23] shows a layering pot, provided with a niche in the side to receive the stem, and a flange behind for securing if to a support. [Fig. 24] represents a layering cone. It is made of zinc or other metal, usually four or five inches high, and is composed of two semi-circular wings which are hinged on the back and are secured in front, when the instrument is closed, by means of a hinge-pin. A cord is inserted in one side with which to hang it on a support. A cup or pot with a removable side is also used. This is shown open in [Fig. 25] and closed in [Fig. 26]. An ingenious compound layering pot is shown in [Fig. 27]. The main stem or trunk of the plant is carried through the large opening, and the branches are taken through the smaller pots at the side. Kier’s layering boxes or racks are shown in Figs. [28] and [29]. The trays are filled with earth and the branches are laid in through the chinks in the border and are treated in the same manner as ordinary out-door layers. These racks supply a neat and convenient means of increasing greenhouse plants which do not readily strike from cuttings.
It is well to bear in mind that when layers do not give strong plants, they can be divided into portions and treated as ordinary cuttings. This is an important operation in the case of rare varieties which are multiplied by means of soft or green layers, as some of the large-flowered clematises and grapes. The weak small plants are handled in a cool greenhouse or under frames, usually in pots, and they soon make strong individuals.
| Fig. 28. Kier’s layering rack. | Fig. 29. Kier’s circular layering rack. |