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THE BEGINNER'S GARDEN BOOK 



sprouted, either underground or in a warm room ; and then 

 the sprouts, with the roots that spring from them, can be 

 carefully cut away and planted separately. By this means 

 expensive tubers can be made to yield the most, for every 

 single eye is made to produce a separate plant. 



Another method of producing plants is found in bulbous 

 plants. In this class I include not only the true bulbs, such 



as those of the lily or onion, 

 but also corms, such as those 

 of the crocus. All of these 

 produce small bulbs or corms, 

 either within or close beside 

 the parent. These, dug up 

 every fall, and stored and 

 planted in the spring, will in 

 a couple of years grow to full 

 size. 



Again, plants may be re- 

 produced by layering. Here 

 we take advantage of the 

 strange fact that if the stem 

 of a plant, while it is still at- 

 tached to its root, is bent 



underground and then up again, it will strike root from the 

 buried part. The bark of the buried stem must usually be 

 cut or broken, in order to allow the making of roots. When 

 the layered stem has rooted well, it can be cut off from the 

 parent plant, and set elsewhere. 



Tip-layering is burying the tip of a shoot, which with 

 certain plants (the gooseberry is one) will root in the 

 same way. 



Some plants (like the blackberry) send out parts under- 

 ground, or (like the strawberry) above ground. These parts 



FIG. 43. LAYERING. 



The buried bark is cut or broken, and 

 will then strike root. 



