176 PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

 PROPAGATION BY SUCKERS AND DIVISIONS. 



Suckers #re shoots which are produced from latent or 

 adventitious buds on the subterranean stems or jroots. 

 Shoots that spring up from the base of the main stem of 

 a plant are often referred to under the name of .stem- 

 suckers, but "sprout" is by far the more appropriate 

 name, as they are of a very different origin, and should 

 not be confounded with the true suckers of plants. There 

 are hundreds of different kinds and species of plants 

 which, under certain~~conditions, produce sprouts quite 

 freelyxfrom their qrow,ns or the base of their stems, but 

 seldom or never a true sucker from the roots. 



The common Dahlia and Pseonia are familiar tuberous 

 rooted plants that produce scouts or stems from, their 

 crowds, butwnp buds or puckers from any part of the 

 tuber or root below it. Among trees, the Catalpas, Ma- 

 ples, Magnolias and Chestnuts are well known kinds that 

 produce sprouts freely, but seldom or never ^sucker. 



To increase by suckers appears to be one oF"rjature's 

 methods of multiplying certain kinds of plants, and when 

 these are brought under cultivation it becomes a ready 

 and simple means of propagation. It is very probable, 

 however, that long continued propagation by suckers will 

 intensify the habit until the plant multiplies so rapidly 

 in this way, that it will lose much of its oriirinal value, 

 even if it does not become an intolerable nuisance to the 

 eumvator. The propaga^ion_o^lants by natural suckers 

 is certainly a GQnveniejit process^Bufr upon the whole it 

 tends more v to the degeneration of the species or variety 

 thus multiplied than to improving it ; consequently, it 

 should jieyer be resorted to except with some of the simple 

 specie^, like the Raspberryand^ackberry, or herbaceous 



