CHAPTER V. 

 PLANT PROPAGATION. 



Plant propagation is the multiplication and reproduc- 

 tion of plants. There are two distinct kinds of reproduction, 

 namely, sexual and vegetative. (1) Sexual reproduction 

 is the multiplication of plants in which the male and 

 the female elements enter into the formation of a new 

 and a distinct individual as found in the seed. Most seed 

 of economic importance therefore are the result of a sexual 

 union of the male and the female cell. (2) Vegetative or 

 asexual reproduction is the multiplication of plants in which 

 the sex elements play no part. It is simply the continu- 

 ation of the growth of the parent plant in a new location 

 with only the one parent concerned. 



Vegetative reproduction is without doubt a most important 

 form of propagation. It is used in the perpetuation of many 

 plants, especially those in which the exact parental form is 

 desired. The different kinds of vegetative reproduction may 

 be enumerated as follows: (1) hardwood cuttings, (2) soft- 

 wood cuttings, (3) leaf cuttings, (4) root cuttings, (5) layers, 

 (6) suckers, (7) stolons, (8) tubers, (9) budding and (10) 

 grafting. In addition several specialized forms are also 

 recognized. 



Vegetative propagation can be divided into two great 

 classes: (1) Propagation by parts intact by which is meant 

 that the part of the plant which is selected for propagation 

 is not separated from the parent until the organs needed 

 to make it self-supporting are formed, as, for example, layers, 

 suckers and stolons; (2) propagation by parts detached, 

 by which is meant that the part of the plant which is intended 

 for propagation is cut from the parent at the beginning and 

 is placed under favorable conditions, so that the formation of 



