72 



Introduction to Botany. 



I 



Fjg. 29, 



Process of Grafting, a, the root, 

 and ^, the branch, made ready 

 for grafting ; o, grafted root and 

 branch. After BARRY. 



that the process of budding is relied on for multiplying 

 desirable varieties of many fruits and flowers, such as 

 peaches, cherries, pears, roses, etc. 



56. Propagation by Grafting. — Likewise, if a small por- 

 tion of the branch bearing a bud be inserted into the stem 

 of another closely allied plant which is rooted in the soil, 

 after the manner represented in Fig. 29, the correspond- 

 ing parts of the two will grow 

 together, and the branches aris- 

 ing from the bud of the engrafted 

 stem will possess essentially the 

 same characters and bear the 

 same kind of fruit as the plant 

 from which the stem was taken. 

 This process is known as grafting, 

 and is employed in the propaga- 

 tion of various fruits and flowers. 



We learn from facts of this 

 kind that the powers and quali- 

 ties of the plant as a whole reside in very restricted parts 

 of it ; a fact of great importance to organisms which can- 

 not seek shelter against the vicissitudes of weather, but 

 must stand in one place and meet the force of storms, 

 often with the result of mutilation or even amputation of 

 their members. It is in virtue of this fact that all of the 

 above-ground parts of certain plants, such as Solomon's 

 seal, goldenrod, and DahHa, may die away and be regen- 

 erated on the return of spring from the relatively small 

 underground portions. 



57. Functions of Stems. — While a typical stem stands 

 erect above the soil and, for its chief function, bears leaves 

 and connects them with the roots, yet, in the economy of 

 the plant, stems may have other forms and pei-form other 



