liNTRODUCTION. 19 



at the shoulders, as ranunculus ; — and at the 

 edges of the radical plate, as in bulbs and many 

 other herbaceous plants. 



That the flower-stem rises from, and is closely 

 connected with, the crown of the plate in nar- 

 cissus, is manifest from the circumstance, that if 

 the peduncle or flower-stem be forcibly pulled 

 out of its socket before the flower expands, and 

 immediately planted in the ground, it will not 

 only produce fibres to enable it to perfect the 

 bloom, but also be based by a new bulb, which 

 will become a perfect plant. 



Bulbous-rooted plants, which seldom produce 

 offsets, may be excited so to do, as before ob- 

 served, by slicing off the upper half of the bulb. 

 This mutilation, taking away the demands of the 

 flower and leaves, gives an energy to the vivi- 

 parous principle which sends forth little bulbs 

 from the sides of the plate, as in hyacinth, or at 

 the margin of the outer coat, as in hsemanthus. 



