CHAPTER XXXV 

 HOW PLANTS ARE PROPAGATED 



240. By Use of Seeds. Seeds contain an embryo 

 plant with sufficient food stored with it to support it till 

 roots, stem, and leaves are formed. The ground must 

 be properly prepared so that the roots can get food from 

 the soil before all the stored food of the seed is consumed. 



Corn in northern United States is usually planted in 

 May, in rows 42 inches apart and from one to one and 

 one-half inches deep in the soil. Winter wheat is sown 

 in September and October, in rows eight inches apart 

 and about one inch deep. Small seeds like clover and 

 many garden seeds are sown on the surface. The surface 

 of the prepared soil in the garden is usually stirred just 

 enough to cover the fine seeds. Raindrops cause clover 

 seed to settle into the soil enough to become covered. 



241. By Use of Roots. Many cultivated plants are 

 propagated by keeping the roots over the winter in a 

 place where they will not freeze and then planting them in 

 the spring. Examples are dahlias and bulbs of tulips 

 and hyacinths. In the North sweet potatoes are planted 

 in hotbeds and young plants grow from the old roots. 

 These plants when about six inches high are transplanted 

 about 10 inches apart in rows which are from two to three 

 feet apart. In the South the sweet potatoes are cut into 

 small pieces and planted like the white potatoes in the 

 North. 



