268 REPRODUCTION 



parents, and the same want of resemblance between parent and 

 offspring is seen when seedlings of carnations, chrysanthemums, 

 dahlias, potatoes, hops, and a vast number of other cultivated 

 plants are compared with their progenitors. 



The reproduction of plants by seeds cannot, therefore, in such 

 cases, be relied on as a means of obtaining a number of 

 examples all resembling their parent : the only method of 

 obtaining the desired result is to take advantage of the power 

 of vegetative reproduction. 



Another reason for the employment of the power of vegetative 

 reproduction is the great saving of time which is effected when 

 the rapid multiplication of certain kinds of plants is the object in 

 view. To raise a remunerative crop of potatoes from true seeds 

 would take five or six years, and an even greater time would be 

 needed to produce an orchard of fruitful trees from the ' pips ' 

 of pears or apples : by the use of tubers in the former, and by 

 grafting on well-established stocks in the latter cases, the end is 

 attained in a comparatively short time. 



The same saving of time is seen in the raising of strawberries 

 from separated runners instead of seeds, and in the propagation 

 of tulips, hyacinths, and narcissi by means of bulbs rather than 

 by seeds. 



Ex. 162. — Examine cuttings and layers of carnations, pelargoniums, goose- 

 berry, black-currant and any others obtainable after they have rooted. Make 

 drawings of the rooted ends. 



Ex. 163. — All students should be required to bud a rose and graft a fruit 

 tree of some kind. 



Examine the external feature of budded and grafted trees in orchards 

 and gardens. Notice if the stock and scion grow in thickness at the same rale. 



