THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 93 



this height or less. It is a common practice to take cuttings of 

 flower stems of Crassula coccinea and bloom them when a few inches 

 high, and the same can be done with Scdum spectabile. The ordi- 

 nary garden Phlox can be rooted from cuttings and grown as a 

 pot plant and has considerable decorative value. Chrysanthe- 

 mums can be bloomed down to a foot high, depending on when the 

 cuttings are rooted. 



Drop a leaf of a Rex Begonia on the sand of the propagating bed 

 and it will root at almost every leaf fork. This suggestion has 

 been taken advantage of by growers of the famous Begonia Gloire 

 de Lorraine and now stock of this is raised almost exclusively in 

 this way. 



By leaf cuttings is often the only way to fix a sport. Sports as 

 they occur in Chrysanthemums and Carnations mean a change in 

 the color of the flower, sometimes half and half. Generally the 

 sporting does not extend to the whole shoot and shoots below a 

 certain point produce normal flowers, so to fix a sport it must be 

 done from the shoot that produces it. Sometimes one is limited 

 to leaf eyes which generally root quite easily and so the sport is 

 fixed. The plants obtained will produce rootstocks the following 

 autumn from which can be got a plentiful supply of cuttings. 

 Rose sports can be treated in the same way, although grafting and 

 budding may be practised with these. 



In fixing Carnation sports it is necessary to go through much the 

 same experience. A cutting or two may be obtained from the shoot 

 that produces the sport, but in order to obtain a greater increase 

 resort must be had to leaf eyes. As, however, all sports are bud 

 variations still other sports are liable which has been known to 

 happen. 



Propagation of any particular plant means the perpetuation of 

 that plant in another individual. Every new plant raised in this 

 way is a part of the original and just as old; it is the same plant. 

 In connection with this fact it is not unusual when a Carnation 

 gets ready to sport it sports in several places at the same time. So 

 well known is this fact by judges that whenever a sport is put before 

 them for certification the award, if considered, is generally witheld 

 until it is found if the sport has appeared elsewhere. 



