Plant Study 17 



begonia the leaves can be made to sprout. Fig. 4 shows a 

 cutting of coleus. 



Sugar-cane is propagated by planting stalks from which the 

 leaves and tops have been stripped. A bud is borne on each 

 node of the stem. When the stem is placed in the soil, these 

 buds will develop into new plants. The buds are easily killed 

 by freezing and for this reason that 

 part of the crop to be saved for plant- 

 ing is harvested early and protected 

 against frost. 



Tillers and rootstocks. Grasses are 

 propagated by means of seeds, but they 

 multiply naturally by tillers and by 

 rootstocks. Timothy, for example, or 

 any grain such as wheat, rye, or oats, 

 which are grasses, multiplies by tillers. FlQ - 4. -Cutting of coleus. 

 Off-shoots called tillers are produced from the lower nodes of a 

 plant and these develop into stalks. Later the new off-shoots 

 produce others and this process continues until the plant be- 

 comes mature. This process is called tillering. 

 < In propagation by means of rootstocks the plant sends out 

 lateral shoots, in most species just below the surface of the 

 ground, and these produce at the nodes a set of roots and a 

 stem that forms a new plant. Each of these new plants may 

 in turn send out shoots and produce other individuals. As 

 this process continues, a close sod is formed. Kentucky blue- 

 grass and Bermuda-grass reproduce in this way. 



11. Propagation of fruit plants by division. Most fruit 

 plants are propagated by division and several of them propa- 

 gate naturally. For example, the red raspberry produces 

 sprouts or suckers that make new plants. The strawberry 

 sends out runners along the surface of the ground that take 

 root, thus producing new individuals. These plants may be 

 cut off and transplanted. The black raspberry produces long 

 drooping canes, called stolons, that take root when the tips 



