CHAPTER II. 



SEPARATION. 



Separation. The act or process of multiplying plants by means of 

 naturally detached asexual organs, or the state or condition of being so 

 multiplied. 



SEPARATION is effected by means of bulbs, bulbels, 

 bulb-scales, bulblets, corms, tubers, offsets, crowns and 

 sometimes by buds. 



Bulbs of all kinds are specialized buds. They are made up 

 of a short and rudimentary axis closely encased in transformed 

 and thickened leaves or bulb-scales. These thickened parts are 

 stored with nutriment which is used during subsequent growth. 

 Bulbs occur only in plants which are accustomed to a long 

 period of inactivity. Many bulbous plants are peculiar to dry 

 and arid regions, where growth is im- 

 possible during long periods. A bulb 

 is, therefore, a more or less permanent 

 and compact leaf -bud, usually occupy- 

 ing the base of the stem underground 

 and emitting roots from its lower por- 

 tion. Bulbs are conveniently divided 

 into two great classes the scaly, or 

 those composed of narrow and mostly 

 loose scales, as in the lily, and lami- 

 nate or tunicate, or those composed of 

 more or less continuous and close- 

 fitting layers or plates, as in the onion. 

 Bulbs often break up or divide 

 themselves into two or more nearly equal portions, as in Lilium 

 candidum, shown one-third natural size in Fig. 10. The parts 

 N. B. 3 (25) 



Fig. 10. Bulb of Lilium 

 candidum. 



