THE MULTIPLICATION OF PLANTS. 431 



treatment, many seeds will not germinate until they have been in the ground 

 two or more years. Most of the bony seeds of shrubs and of many fruits 

 behave in this manner. The experienced horticulturist is able to recognize 

 this tardy character in most cases. Such seeds are simply allowed to remain 

 in the ground until they come up. We have plats at the college which 

 contain seeds which we do not expect to make an appearance for two or three 

 years. We keep these plats clean of weeds and abide nature's pleasure. It 

 is supposed that nature has an object in thus delaying germination, for more 

 seeds can perfect plants if a few germinate each year than if all germinated 

 at once. With certain seeds, seedlings will continue to appear for eight or 

 ten years from a single sowing. 



2. Layerage. This subject readily divides itself into two parts, natural 

 layerage and artificial layerage. Nature does not rely upon seeds alone, else 

 many 6i her plants would fail to "hold their own." Perhaps half of our wild 

 plants, other than trees, have auxilliary methods of propagation. The roots 

 spread rapidly in a horizontal direction and at intervals new individuals start 

 from them, forming stools or suchers. The long and lax shoots bend to the 

 ground and take root at the apex, forming root-tijJS, as in raspberries. If 

 these shoots are weaker and strike the ground below their tip, as in some 

 honeysuckles, dogwoods and other plants, they are known as stolons. If her- 

 baceous shoots run along on the surface, taking root at their joints, they 

 become runners, as in strawberries and sweet potatoes. These are all natural 

 methods of propagation. When man bends over the stems of plants, secur- 

 ing them to the earth so that they will take root he practices layering. Most 

 soft-wooded plants will "strike," as the gardeners say, from the simple con- 

 tact with the earth. In case they do not, it is a common practice to make an 

 incision through the bark on the lower side of the stem where it meets the 

 ground. This incision begins to heal; a callus is formed from which roots 

 strike out. Layering is usually performed in the spring when the leaves 

 begin to push, but on warm soils it can be performed in the fall with equal suc- 

 cess. It should not be performed in summer, otherwise an immature growth 

 will be had which will be likely to winterkill. If layers are put down in 

 spring, they will usually be ready to detach from the parent plant the follow- 

 ing spring. All the old, original stem should be removed except enough to carry 

 the root which has formed. In this manner we propagate most shrubby plants 

 which do not take readily from cuttint^s. It is used for black raspberries, 

 often for currants and gooseberries, and very largely for ornamental bushes. 

 A modification of these common or simple lagers is the serpentine lager. This 

 differs from the ordinary layer only in having two or more points of contact 

 with the earth instead of one, enabling the operator to secure more than one 

 plant from each layer. It is frequently used upon plants whose stems are 

 very long and lax. We have used it this last year with a species 

 of trailing raspberry from the North. When we lay down several strawberry 

 plants from one runner we make a serpentine layer. The Chinese layer is 

 very different from these last. It is practiced in -green-houses upon plants 

 which have become " leggy " or "toppy," that is, whose stems are too slender 

 and long. The stem is girdled just below the branches, and about this girdle 

 is tied a large ball of moss. Usually a large flower pot is split and put about 

 the stem to hold the moss. This moss is kept moist, and roots soon begin to 

 penetrate it from the upper side of the girdle. When these roots are suffici- 

 ently grown, the stem is severed at the girdle and the whole top of the plant. 



