8 



The Bulletin. 



to plant seedlings unless one desires something different from the 

 variety or seedling from which the seed is selected. But in such a 

 case the resulting trees are inferior to the parent variety in nearly 

 every instance. It is only an accidental tree in many thousands of 

 seedlings that proves equal or superior to the parent plant. If one 

 wishes to gTOW seedlings for this purpose, and is willing to sacrifice 

 many trees so that one improved or worthy new variety may be 

 obtained, the practice is to be recommended. In fact, most of, our 

 varieties are the result of seedlings, and gTeat improvement can be 

 made with all of our fruits in this way. This practice is distinct, 

 however, from commercial orcharding. 



PROPAGATION BY DIVISION. 



Runners. — Some plants propagate readily from runners. In most 

 cases this is done without the aid of man. The old or parent plant 

 sends out long, slender shoots above the ground, which will form roots 

 and a little plant at some of the nodes. The little plant receives 

 nourishment from the parent until its own roots become fixed, and 

 they remain attached to each other until the runner decays or is cut. 

 The strawberry is a good example. Some runners form only one bud, 



Fig. 6.— Strawberry Plant. Showinjir Parent Plant, Runner and Youn^ Plant 



while Others will form several. Although these buds will naturally 

 take root in many cases, far better results will be obtained if they are 

 properly cared for. The ground should be mellow and moist, so that 

 the roots from the buds can enter. Sometimes the runners are not 

 close to the gTOund and not enough moisture reaches the bud to form 

 roots. This can be overcome by placing a little dirt on the runner 

 near ear-h bnd. Fig. 6 shows runner and plants of strawberry. 



