Methods of Propagation 



81 



Fig. 71. Layering by Tongueing and Ringing 



buds are rubbed off on the portion of stem beneath the soil, while they 

 are retained on the overground portions shown at 1, 2, and h. Many 

 fruit - tree stocks, like the Crab and Paradise for Apples, Mussel and 

 Brussel Plums, Pears and Quinces, the Mahaleb Cherry, ai-e usually raised 

 from layers, as are also many ornamental shrubs like Magnolias, Cratsegus, 

 Osmanthus, Phillyrea, Viburnum, Hamamelis, &c. 



In the case of such plants as 

 Vines, Clematis, Wistaria, Lapa- 

 gerias, and others with long flex- 

 uous shoots, the latter are bent 

 down at intervals of a foot or 

 two, as shown in the sketch 

 (fig. 72), the portions e being 

 pegged down and covered with 

 soil 6, the overground portions 

 d being furnished with buds. 

 Owing to the snake -like ar- 

 rangement of the shoots this 

 system of layering is known as 

 " serpentine ". 



Many plants like Goose- 

 berries, Black Currants, Loganberries, and Blackberries, &c., layer them- 

 selves naturally when the stems are allowed to lie upon the ground, and 

 they may be propagated in this way if necessary. Many other woody 

 plants could also be propagated by layering if necessary or desirable. 



Runners. A runner is a slender whip-like shoot sent out from the 

 parent plant to root at some distance away, and at certain intervals to 

 produce fresh plants. The Strawberry is the best-known example of a 

 runner-bearing plant, and gar- 

 deners readily seize upon this 

 character to raise thousands 

 every year. New varieties of 

 Strawberries, of course, are 

 only obtained from seeds after 

 a more or less lengthy process 

 of cross-fertilizing and selec- 

 tion ; but, once established, new 

 varieties are also propagated 



from runners. Other plants besides the Strawberry throw out " runners " 

 or "stolons", examples of which are met with in the Sweet Violet, the 

 Houseleek, some Saxifrages (like 8. sarmentosa), and these may be used 

 for propagating purposes. In the case of Couch Grass the underground 

 stolons are produced with more than desirable frequency and pertinacity 

 from the cultivator's point of view. 



Suckers. A sucker is an aerial shoot springing from an underground 



stem or root. Suckers usually have some fibrous roots attached to them, 

 VOL. I. 6 



Fig. 72. Serpentine Layering 



