THE RUNNER 117 



cut a vertical section of the whole plant, noting the roots, short 

 stem, scale-leaves, and foliage-leaves. 



THE RUNNER. Good examples of these are found in the 

 Strawberry and Creeping Crowsfoot. The runner is a creeping 

 stem with long internodes. At the nodes are produced a tuft of 

 shoots and adventitious roots. These roots attach themselves 

 to the soil, and the internode ultimately decays. 



The above are the principal ways in which a plant reproduces 

 itself vegetatively. The chief artificial methods of vegetative 

 reproduction are effected by means of division, layers, cuttings, 

 grafting, and budding. 



Nearly all woody plants at some period or other in their 

 growth give rise to branches from underground points in their 

 stems. These branches grow in an oblique direction towards the 

 surface, and when they reach it develop leaves above ground and 

 adventitious roots underground. Such a growth is very appro- 

 priately termed a " sucker/' since it frequently robs the parent of 

 nourishment. Ultimately the portion of the stem which connects 

 the sucker with the parent plant rots away, but this process is 

 hastened by the gardener, who cuts through the sucker at a point 

 below its roots. This method of increasing the number of plants 

 is commonly employed in the case of perennial flowering plants. 

 For purposes of study, note the suckers of Raspberry, Rose, and 

 Plum trees. Dig out the soil around one of these, so as to see 

 that the sucker arises from a subterranean portion of the stem, 

 and to observe the adventitious roots. 



If we cut off a portion of the stem of a plant, insert the cut 

 portion in the soil, and keep it moist and warm, the cutting will 

 in most cases " strike/' That is to say, adventitious roots will be 

 formed at the node immediately above the cut, provided this node 

 is covered by the soil. A similar formation of roots can be induced 

 in the severed leaves of Begonias and Gloxinias, and in the roots 

 of Pelargoniums. Moreover, it is not necessary to separate the stem 

 completely from the parent plant, for if the stem is bent downwards 

 and one portion of it partly cut through and covered with soil, 

 adventitious roots may be produced. Detailed examples will now 

 be given of the ways in which these facts are utilised in gardening. 



