INTRODUCTION. 



and also of ascending in the form of stem. The first of 

 these buds is the embryo ; the others are subsequently 

 formed on the stem emitted by the embryo. As these 

 secondary buds develope, their descending roots com- 

 bine and form the wood, their ascending stems give rise 

 again to new buds. These buds are all exactly like 

 each other : they have the same constitution, the same 

 organic structure, and the individuals they are capable 

 of producing are, consequently, all identically the same ; 

 allowance, of course, being made for such accidental 

 injuries or alterations as they may sustain during their 

 subsequent growth. It is upon the existence of such a 

 remarkable physiological peculiarity in plants, that pro- 

 pagation entirely depends ; an evident proof of which 

 may be seen in this circumstance. Take a cutting of a 

 vine consisting only of the space which lies between two 

 buds, or an internodium, as botanists would call such a 

 piece, and no art will succeed in ever making it become 

 a new plant, no matter how considerable the size of the 

 internodium may be.* But, on the other hand, take the 

 bud of a vine without any portion of the stem adhering 

 to it, and it will throw out stem and root, and become 

 a new plant immediately. If we examine the various 

 modes employed in horticulture for propagating plants, 

 we shall find that, however different they may be in ap- 

 pearance, they all consist in the application of these 

 principles under various forms. It will be most con- 

 venient to consider these methods separately. 



Propagation is effected by the arts of Increasing by 

 Eyes, Striking from Cuttings, Laying, Budding, and 

 Grafting. 



Increasing by Eyes is the simplest of all these 

 methods : it consists in nothing but extracting a single 



* This is, of course, said without reference to the power 

 which some plants possess of developing latent buds, a subject 

 which is foreign to the present enquiry. 



a 2 



