68 ON THE PROPAGATION 



layering only differs from the sowing of the buds, in that 

 the buds on the layers are allowed to acquire a certain 

 degree of maturity before they are separated from the 

 parent plant. All here depends upon the facility with 

 which these bud-plants root as it is called, that is, develop 

 adventitious roots, when they are brought in contact with 

 moist earth. 



Human art is not by any means the only influence by which 

 the multiplication of plants in this mode is brought about, 

 for Nature herself very often makes use of this method to 

 multiply certain plants in incalculable numbers. In a few 

 cases, the process resembles the artificial sowing of buds, 

 as when the plant spontaneously throws off the perfect 

 buds at a certain period ; an instance of this is afforded by 

 some of our garden Lilies, which throw off the little bulb- 

 like buds which appear in the axils of the upper leaves. 

 The more common mode of proceeding is as follows : those 

 buds which have been formed near the surface of the soil, 

 grow up into shoots provided with leaves ; but the shoots 

 are long, slender, and delicate, the leaves, too, stunted into 

 little scales ; in their axils, however, develop strong buds, 

 which either in the same or following year take root, and 

 the slender shoot connecting them with the parent plant 

 dying and decaying, they become free independent plants. 

 In this manner the Strawberry (PL in. Fig. 4), soon covers 

 a neglected garden ; in this manner is the Potato almost 

 exclusively propagated, for this useful tuber is nothing but 

 a large subterranean fleshy bud ; in a similar way, too, the 

 Duck-weed, which seldom flowers and bears seed, in a very 

 short time covers our ditches and ponds, in the spring, 

 with thousands of individuals. Many more examples 

 might be adduced, but these familiar ones will suffice. 

 This propagation by buds stands in a remarkable relation 



