VABIOUS WAYS OF GROWING PLANTS 75 



had deep furrows, and mostly had cores, far different from the 

 modern large, smooth, coreless fruit. 1 



There is much advantage, then, in the fact that plants, 

 when grown from seed, vary more or less widely. But when 

 the variation is sure to be great, or the seed are few, or when 

 the plants take years to grow, then we must find other 

 methods of growing plants. Such methods have been studied 

 out long ago. 



The first is by division of the roots of herbaceous perennials 

 — that is, of plants whose tops die down to the ground in the 

 fall, but whose roots live from year to year. When they have 

 died down, we shall find that each cluster of roots has, at the 

 surface, buds or eyes which will make next year's shoots. 

 This is true not only of fibrous-rooted plants, such as Japanese 

 iris, golden glow, and boltonia, but also of the tuberous- 

 rooted plants, such as the German iris and rhubarb. With 

 a sharp tool, a knife or spade, we can separate the roots into 

 two or more parts, each with an eye or more. These parts, 

 when planted, will grow. 



Another method of growing plants is by tubers. A tuber, 

 such as a potato or a dahlia root, is a thickened underground 

 stem, having on it buds or eyes which are capable of sprout- 

 ing. If a potato, or a dahlia tuber, is planted, or even is kept 

 in a moderately warm, moist room, the eyes will send up 

 shoots, at the base of which roots will start. Beginning thus, 

 strong new plants will produce new tubers. If the tubers are 

 large, they can even be divided, so long as there is an eye to 

 each piece. 



Any one can see, of course, that there must be still another 

 way to produce plants from tubers. The tubers can be 



1 If one's beans have strings, or one's tomatoes have cores, they may be 

 too old, or may have had too little water. But more likely they came from 

 poor seed. 



