33 



and ill a few years a single individual gives rise to a con- 

 siderable patch. This is well shown in the common May- 

 apple or podophyllum. 



In some species these crowns 

 are removed in the autumn, and 

 are planted and handled in much 

 the same manner as bulbs. The 

 crown or "pip" (if the lily-of- 

 the valley, shown in Fig. 26, is 

 obtained in this manner. 



Rootstocks may be divided 

 into as many parts as there are 

 eyes or buds, and each part is 

 then treated as an independent 

 plant. Familiar examples of 

 such division are the common 

 practices of multiplying rhubarb 

 and canna. A canna rootstock, 

 or "stool," is seen in Fig. 27. 

 The obser\'er is looking down 

 upon the top of the stool ; and 

 the five pieces show how the 

 operator has divided it. The 

 two lower pieces on the left show 

 the remains of the flower-stalks 

 of the previous year. If the variety were very scarce, 

 some of these pieces could be again divided into two or 

 three. 



All perennial herbs may be multiplied with more or less 

 readiness by means of simply dividing the crowns. Most 

 bushes may be similarly treated, as lilacs, many roses, 

 spireas, and the like. The general stock species of herba- 

 ceous border plants — as aquilegias, hemerocallis, funkias, 

 and the like — are generally grown in permanent small 

 areas by nurserymen, and plants are cut out of the plot 

 as orders are received. If, however, the nurseryman is 

 making a special "run" on any plant, he gets his stock 



26. LUy-of-ihe-valley crown 



(xj<). 



