CHAPTER VI 

 PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY DIVISION 



All are but parts of one stupendous whole, 

 Whose body Nature is, and God the soul. POPE. 



METHODS of propagation of plants may be grouped into two 

 classes, sexual and asexual. The first includes propagation by 

 spores and by seeds. Spores are produced by mushrooms, by 

 parasitic fungi and by some others of economic importance. Seeds 

 are produced by practically all classes of farm and garden plants. 



FIG. 43. A single sweet potato from the hot-bed, showing many young sprouts. When the 

 largest shoots are about twelve inches high they may be pulled and set in the fields. 



The method of seed formation is sexual, involving both stamens 

 and pistils, as described in Chapter II. 



Many such plants are multiplied by means of stems, leaves or 

 roots. This is without sex, and is called asexual. The propagation 

 is accomplished by a division of the parent plant in some form. 

 Examples of division are by roots, underground stems, tubers, 

 bulbs, runners, cuttings, layers, buds and grafts. 



Root Propagation. The sweet potato is a true root. The 

 store of plant food is abundant. Buds may start under the epi- 

 dermis at any point, and many plants are started from a single 

 root (Fig. 43). 



55 



