Be patient. As long as the cuttings look bright and green, they are safe. It may be a month before roots form. When roots have formed, the plants will begin to make new leaves at the tip. Then they may be transplanted into other boxes or into pots. The verbena in Fig. 261 is just ready for transplanting. Each child will want a plant. [Illustration: _Fig. 261. Verbena cutting ready for transplanting. Two-thirds natural size._] It is not always easy to find growing shoots from which to make the cuttings. The best practice is to cut back some old plant severely, then keep it warm and well watered, and thereby force it to throw out new shoots. The old geranium plant from the window garden, or the one taken up from the lawn bed, may be served this way. See Fig. 262. This may seem hard treatment, but that is all the old plant is good for; it has passed its usefulness for bloom. The best plants of the geranium and the coleus and many window plants are those which are not more than one year old. The cuttings that are made in January, February, or March will give compact blooming plants for the next winter; and thereafter new ones take their place. Some plants may be propagated by means of cuttings of leaves. The Rex begonias or "beefsteak geraniums" are the commonest examples. The large, nearly mature leaf is divided into triangular pieces, each piece containing at its point a bit of the leaf-base (top of the leaf-stalk). This kind of cutting is shown in Fig. 263. This base is sometimes split (as at o) by gardeners to hasten the formation of roots. Only the tip of the cutting is stuck into the sand; otherwise it is treated like other softwood cuttings. THE HARDWOOD CUTTING. Many plants grow readily from cuttings of ripe or dormant wood. The willows cast their branchlets in snow and wind, and these, falling in pleasant places propagate their kind; and thus the river sides and the lake shores become willow-crowned. Grapes, currants, gooseberries, poplars readily take root from the hardwood. Fig. 264 shows a currant cutting. It has only one bud above the ground. [Illustration: _Fig. 262. Old geranium plant cut back to make it throw out shoots from which cuttings can be made._] The best results are attained when the cuttings are made in the fall, and then buried until spring in sand in the cellar. They are not idle while they rest. The lower end calluses or heals, and the roots form more readily when the cutting is planted in the spring. But if the children are interested, take cuttings at any time in winter, plant them in a deep box in the window, and watch. They will need no shading or special care. When plants of any variety are scarce, the cuttings may be shorter. Sometimes they are reduced to a single "eye" or bud, with an inch or two of wood attached; and these single-eye cuttings are planted much as one plants seeds. [Illustration: _Fig. 263. Begonia leaf cutting. Natural size._] THE GRAFT.