IMturAOATION.] 



riiACriTH OF UOIITICULTUEE. [uuujs, buckebs, etc. 



operations of p^nrdeoing, is the propngatioa of 

 plants. This is univers<ally doiio by seed ; but 

 also, to soino extent, by f^crms or bulbs, 

 suckers, runners, slips, and olVitcts. Arti- 

 iicially, it is done by layers, budding, grafting, 

 iti-ardiing cuttings, and siuijlo leaves. ]t 

 is a general rule that imported seeds should 

 be sown as soon as passible after their re- 

 ce[)tion, except in tho case of such as speedily 

 vegetate, which, however, should not be put 

 into the ground either lato in the autumn, or 

 early in the winter. Tho reason for this ad- 

 vice is, that if. they vegetated during the 

 dark months of the year, the probability is 

 that the young plants would be cut off. Hard 

 seeds, and such as have no ti-udency to rapid 

 vegetation, uiay be sown at those seasons 

 when it is calculated that their growth will 

 commence. A primary object, however, as 

 regards all seeds, is to be sure that they have 

 the principles of life iu them ; for some are 

 deprived of their vitality very early after they 

 are gathered, while others retain it only for 

 one, or perhaps a couple of seasons. Anotlier 

 consideration of some importance, is the size 

 of the seeds, as on this depends the depth to 

 which they require to be covered with the 

 soil. For the same reason, the texture of 

 their own covering must be attended to. Mr. 

 Loudon tells us, that on the form and surface of 

 the outer coating of seeds, sometimes depends 

 the mode of sowing, as in the carrot ; and on 

 their qualities in general, depends their liability 

 to be attacked by iusects. The germination of 

 the seed, likewise, greatly depends on the 

 presence of moisture, and a due amount of 

 heat and air iu the soil. No seed will sprout 

 or germinate at 32° Fahr., nor if enclosed in 

 hermetically sealed vessels, nor even if too 

 deeply buried in the earth. Such are the 

 points to be kept in remembrance in propa- 

 gating by seed; whilst the nature of the 

 climate, the soil, and the season, must assist in 

 determining how, where, when, and in what 

 quantity, the seed should be sown. 



PROPAGATING BY BULBS, SUCKERS, AND 

 RUNNERS 



Whether the bulb be cauline — that is, 

 growing immediately on the herbaceous stem 

 or stalk — or radical, it generally requires to be 

 planted very soon after it has bt'cu removed 



from the parent plant. It ehould, also, be 

 put into light earth, and buried no deeper 

 than about tiio dc|)th of its own diameter 

 from tho surface. Jiulba which huvo attained 

 to maturity, may bo preserved for several 

 months out of tho soil, without their powers 

 of vitality aulli-ring in any degree; but infant 

 bulbs cannot bear treatment of this kind. If 

 withheld from the soil, they soon dry up, and 

 become seriously injured, if, iudecd, they do 

 not entirely lose their vitality. Suc/cers have 

 been described as mere runners under-ground ; 

 and propagation by them is seldom adopted, 

 uulefs it be in tho case of some hardy shrubs, 

 and the piue-apple. Plants raised by these 

 means, among the former, however, are 

 usually held to be of inferior quality ; but in 

 the case of the pine-apple it is otherwise. 

 Wliero a system of good culture is pursued, 

 an abundant stock is easily maintained to 

 meet the necessities of a private supply, by 

 making choice of the strongest suckers pro- 

 duced on the stem. The redundancy of 

 these, of course, depends, more or less, on the 

 amount of check which the plant may have 

 sustained by the formation of the fruit. Bare 

 sorts may be vastly increased by retaining the 

 stump instead of throwing it; away, which is 

 usually done after the fruit has ripened, aud 

 placing it in a damp pit, with a bottom tem- 

 perature of 90'. Every latent eye should then 

 sprout, and a large quantity of young plants 

 be the result. Loudon, in speaking of pro- 

 pagating by suckers, says, all that is neces- 

 sary to be done is to dig them up, and to 

 cut off each plautlet with a portion of root ; 

 after which its top may be reduced, by cut- 

 ting off from one-fourth to one-half of the 

 shoot, in order to fit it to the curtailed root ; 

 and it may then be planted either in the 

 nursing department, or, if a strong plant, 

 where it is finally to remain. Propagating by 

 runners is, with a certain species, both con- 

 venient and certain. All that is necessary to 

 be done, is to allow the plantlet on the shoot, 

 or runner, to be well rooted before being 

 separated from the parent. It; may then be 

 planted in the spot where it has been deter- 

 mined it shall remain. 



PROPAGATING BY SLIPS AND OFFSETS, 



A slip is a shoot which springs from tho 



9i3 



