PROPAGATION. 



127 



leaves. The nature of these plants is sucn as lo 

 enable any portion of them to remain fresh and 

 plump for a long time when placed under perfectly 

 dry conditions ; and sujh conditions are, as a rule, 

 more favourable to the formation of roots, both by 

 stem and leaf cuttings, than any other. All that is 

 necessary, when a stock of these plants is wanted, 

 is to strip the leaves from the lower part of the stem, 

 placing them on a dry shelf for a few days, and 

 then laying them on pans or boxes of dry sandy 

 soil in a warm house. This treatment causes the 

 leaves to develop roots, and afterwards buds, which 

 soon start into growth, when water may be given 

 them in the same quantities as required by larger 

 plants. 



Pinguioula caadata. — This handsome Butterwort is 

 propagated either from seeds, seldom ripened iu this 

 country, or by means of its large tongue-shaped 

 leaves ; it does not develop lateral or basal buds in 

 the same way as the British Butterworts are known 

 to do. The leaves require to be prepared as advised 

 for Bertolonias, but a pan of silver sand should be 

 used instead of soil for them. They should be in- 

 serted with their bases just in the sand, and the 

 blade resting upon it. Over the pan a pane of glass 

 may be placed, the whole to be stood on a shelf near 

 the glass, in a stove temperature. If the sand is 

 moist when the cuttings are inserted, little or no 

 water will be required by the cuttings till buds are 

 developed. Begonias may be treated as suggested 

 for Gloxinias; or if to be propagated on a large 

 scale, a frame containing cocoa-nut fibre, heated to 

 about 70", may be used, pegging the BegOnia-leaves 

 on to the fibre. "We may just ref^r here to the re- 

 productive nature of some fern-fronds," especially 

 the Aspleniums, Nephrodiums, Aspidiums, and some 

 Hymenophj'Uums, the fronds of which usually bear 

 buds, which eventually form plants. The require- 

 ments of such leaves, when wanted for propagating 

 purposes, are pretty much the same as those of the 

 plants themselves. 



Mention may also be made of the fleshy scales of 

 some Cycads, of Marattias and Angiopteris, which 

 have been employed as cuttings, owing to their 

 power to root and produce plants. At Kew, both 

 the Ferns here mentioned have been propagated in 

 this way. The scales are large and succulent, and 

 are borne on the stem about the bases of the leaf- 

 stalks. When severed from the stem and placed in 

 a propagating-frame, they first push forth roots, 

 which are followed by the buds, generally a pair of 

 buds to each scale, one on each side of the base. 



The scales which form Lilium bulbs may, in like 

 manner, be used for propagation, as if fresh when 

 gathered, and placed iu sandy soil in an-intermediate 

 temperature, they root and form small bulbs, capable 



of growing into large plants. All these exceptional 

 ways of obtaining a stock of plants are only resorted 

 to in rare cases; they are chiefly of physiological 

 interest, showing, as they do, how nature has pro- 

 vided plants with auxiliary powers for their repro- 

 duction, which are held in reserve till called upon 

 by the failure of the normal or proper means to 

 fulfil the functions of increase or reproduction. 



FROPAGATIOm BY ROOT-CUTTINGS. 



The term root is sometimes applied to parts of a. 

 plant which are not strictly roots, although often 

 produced in the same way and along with, or upon, 

 true roots. Such portions are rhizomes, which are 

 simply underground stems, as in Iris, Primrose, and 

 Arum ; corms, as in the Crocus and Cyclamen ; and 

 tubers, as in Caladium, Ginger, and Potato. These 

 are all different forms of stem, as may be seen in 

 their structure and appearance. We are incorrect 

 in assuming that all subterranean portions of a plant 

 belong to the roots. The proper function of roots is 

 that of binding the plant to the earth, and absorbinj; 

 nourishment for the stems and leaves ; and, under 

 normal conditions, they do not bear buds or any 

 other organs. But although not naturally furnished 

 with buds, many roots have the power to form them 

 under certain circumstances, and, in a few cases, we 

 may see them developing shoots habitually. Limes, 

 Chestnuts, Poplars, Apples, and other trees may 

 sometimes be seen surrounded by colonies of saplings, 

 which owe their origin to this tendency on the part 

 of roots to originate buds. 



In consequence of this power in true roots, wo 

 often employ them for purposes of propagation, and, 

 in the case of a few plants, root-cuttings are either 

 the only or the readiest means of increase. As in 

 the case of bud-generation in leaves, there a>ppears to 

 be no rule by which we can judge of the power of 

 roots to form buds, but it is very likely that a great 

 many more plants have this power than is generally 

 believed. Where any difficulty occurs in the propa- 

 gation of plants by the generally practised methods, 

 it is always wise to try some of these out-of-the-way 

 means, as by them a lucky hit is not unfrequently 

 made. Take as instances of this the Droseras, 

 Arnebia echioides, Trichinium MangUsii, and the 

 Ipecacuanha plant' which are but a, few of those 

 plants which are diflicult of increase by any other 

 method than that of root-cuttings. It is stated that 

 the introduction of the valuable medicinal plant 

 Cephaelis Ipecacuanha into India could not be suc- 

 cessfully brought about till it was discovered that its 

 roots, when cut up into small pieces, would produce 

 plants. Nurserymen know the value of this method, 

 especially when applied to herbaceous plants, whilst 

 most gardeners are acquainted with its advantages 



