HOW PLANTS ARE PROPAGATED 101 



Try the experiment of putting them in the sand up- 

 side down and see what happens. 



The stems of strawberries strike root at the joints, 

 and need only be cut off to make new plants. If we 

 bend down the tip of a blackberry stem and cover it 

 with earth, it strikes roots. This is called layering and 

 is a good way to propagate blackberries, raspberries, 

 and quinces. Many bulbs, if broken up, produce a plant 

 from each scale or leaf of the bulb. If begonia leaves 

 are cut into pieces and spread out on moist sand, each 

 piece makes a new plant. 



Many roots and underground stems (dock, morning- 

 glory, bur clover) when cut produce a new plant from 

 each piece. This is why some weeds are so hard to get 

 rid of (see page 165). 



How to transplant. The best way to grow many 

 plants is to start them in boxes or plots and later trans- 

 plant them. Unless one knows how to do this, the roots 

 will be hurt so that the plant will die. But if you know 

 how, you can make every plant grow. 



First, make a hole in the earth larger than is needed 

 to hold the roots. Line this with good earth made 

 fine just as for sowing seeds (page 4). Take the pot in 

 the left hand and turn it upside down, so that the dirt 

 is held by the hand. Tap the pot with the right hand 

 until the earth is loose and then lift it off. Now use 

 both hands to hold the earth together while you set the 

 plant in the hole. Pack good fine earth about the roots, 



