PEOPAGATION. 65 



thrifty, that they do not have good root=. Inherent dis- 

 ease of the parent tree will of course be transmitted with 

 its other peculiarities, but I cannot imagine that this would 

 be any more likely to occur in a sucker than in a layer, or 

 cutting, or graft. As to the roots, they may be more de- 

 veloped upon one side than another in the young tree, and 

 this state of things may continue in the adult ; we often 

 observe the same condition in the stumps of the monarchs 

 of our forests, which were never suspected in the day of 

 their glory and pride of having such a fault. But such a 

 condition of roots is not essential to the sucker, which 

 may be made to have as fine a system of lateral roots, and 

 as evenly and regularly distributed as those of a seedling 

 tree. Another objection to this mode of propagation has 

 much truth and some force ; that is, that suckers are very 

 apt to produce suckers again. This is particularly 

 the case with the Morello cherry, which is a favorite 

 stock, upon which to work many of the choice va- 

 rieties. As an oflFset to this it may be urged, that the 

 small fibrous roots, which are supposed to conduce to 

 early fruitfulness, abound in trees propagated by this 

 means, and this may be the reason why the fruit trees 

 that have been thus multiplied, are very generally re- 

 markable for their precocious fruiting. Some of the 

 apples that have been long increased in this manner, bear 

 so early, and so bountifull)-, as to prevent them from ever 

 forming very large trees ; they often have a stunted ap- 

 pearance, and not in&equently present a pecuUar inequal- 

 ity upon the bark, portions being swollen or enlarged 

 like warts — ^from which, in some cases, it is easy to force 

 out shoots or sprouts ; they are indeed true gemmules like 



