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THE FIRST BOOK OF FARMING 



when we wish to produce new white potato plants. 

 We cut an old potato in pieces and plant them. The 

 buds in the eyes grow and form new plants. One 

 way of getting new grape plants is to take a ripened 

 vine in the fall and cut it in pieces with two or 

 three buds and plant them so that one or both of 

 the buds are covered with soil. The pieces will take 

 root and in the spring will send up new shoots and 

 thus form new plants. 



You can obtain new plants from geranium, ver- 

 bena, nasturtium and many Other flowering plants, 

 by cutting and planting slips or parts of the stems 

 from them. 



In parts of the South new sweet potato plants are 

 obtained by cutting parts of the stems from grow- 

 ing plants and planting them. 



Florists produce large numbers of new plants by 

 taking advantage of this function of stems. 



Experiment. Take a white potato which is a 

 thickened stem and place it in a warm, dark place. 

 It will soon begin to sprout or send out new stems, 

 and as these new stems grow the potato shrinks 

 and shrivels up. Why is this? It is because the 

 starch and other material stored in the potato are 

 being used to feed the new branches. When we 

 plant potatoes in the garden and field the new plants 

 produced from the eyes of the potato are fed by 

 the stored material until they strike root and are 

 able to take care of themselves. 



All stems store food for the future use of the 

 plant. 



