180 PBOPAGATIOK OP PLANTS. 



Peopagatioit by Eunnees, oe Stolosts. — There are 

 manys species of plants, such as the common Strawberry, 

 some of the Potentillas, Saxifrages, and various species 

 of Grasses, which throw out long, slender shoots, pro- 

 ducing buds, leaves and roots at the nodes or joints. 

 Plants of this kind require very little artificial aid in their 

 propagation ; still we can hasten development and growth 

 by keeping the surface of the ground rich and loose, 

 applying water whenever necessary. In propagating the 

 common Strawberry by runners, the young plants may be 

 layered in small pots filled with rich soil, and then 

 plunged in the bed and in the most convenient position 

 to receive the undeveloped plant when ready for pro- 

 ducing roots or layering. By this mode the roots are 

 confined within the pot, forming a close, compact ball, 

 which facilitates transplanting and prevents any serious • 

 check to the growth of the young plant. 



CHAPTER XV. 



PROPAGATION BY ROOT-CUTTINGS. 



The propagation of plants by root-cuttings has its ad- 

 vantages and its disadvantages. With some kinds, such 

 as certain species of the Easpberry and Blackberry, it 

 will yield plants far superior to those usually obtained in 

 the form of natural suckers ; but with fruit trees, such 

 as the Pear, Plum, and Cherry, it should never be em- 

 ployed, except when no other mode can be made available, 

 or for the purpose of saving some choice variety from be- 

 coming wholly extinct. Trees that naturally produce 

 suckers are likely to have this habit intensified by contin- 

 ued propagation by either suckers or root-cuttings ; but 

 there are others upon whom it does not appear to have 



