EXERCISE 9 



HOW SOME PLANTS ARE PROPAGATED WITHOUT THE USE OF SEED 



Statement. Some plants, such as the banana, have been propagated by other means than seeds 

 so long that they have lost the power of producing seeds. Others, though still producing seeds, are more 

 readily propagated in other ways than by planting the seeds. 



Object. To learn how plants are reproduced without the use of seeds. 



Materials. Mature geranium, coleus, begonia, and carnation plants; neighboring 

 blackberry or raspberry bush or grapevine ; young shoots of willows ; boxes of clean, 

 fine sand with pieces of glass large enough to cover the boxes. 



Directions, i. Cuttings. Cut pieces of geraniums, coleus, begonia, and carnations 

 so that each piece consists of a bud (terminal or lateral), one or two leaves, and two 

 or three inches of stem. With a sharp knife or scissors cut away most of the leaf blade. 

 Set the cuttings in sand just deep enough so that the tip of the bud is exposed. Cover 

 the box with glass so that a small amount of ventilation is secured. After twelve or 

 fourteen days carefully lift some of the cuttings, and if roots are started, plant each cut- 

 ting in soil in a small pot, taking 

 care to protect it against drying, 

 or against cold-air currents. Cut 

 twigs of willow ; place them in 



a jar of water for a few days until roots start 



at the joints, then plant them in soil. 



2. Layering. Bend a branch of raspberry ) 

 blackberry, or grapevine to the ground, cover 

 it with four or five inches of soil, leaving about 

 a foot of the growing tip exposed. In six weeks 

 or two months cut the old branch free from the parent plant, dig up and transplant the new branch, 

 which in this time should have developed roots from the buried portion. 



3. Runners. Study strawberry plants to see how new plants are started naturally in strawberry 

 patches. 



Questions. What practical uses are made in your neighborhood of these methods of plant propaga- 

 tion? How are Irish potatoes propagated? sweet potatoes? grapes? roses? willows? What aged 

 wood is selected for propagation of the grape? the rose? Why? 



Reference. Waters, H. J. Essentials of Agriculture, pp. 35-45. Ginn and Company. 



Fig. 10. Cutting 

 from geranium 



Such cuttings soon 



take root if planted 



in moist sand 



v ''/'•-,>; / */,/»,v/:v.'.;';;'4«vy/.'/ 



Fig. 11. Strawberry plants started by runners 

 The runners develop new plants at the nodes, or joints 



[18] 



