278 



PROPAGATIOxV BY SUCKERS, SLIPS, ETC. 



the upright stems, may be called stem-suckers or slips. A cutting of 

 a gooseberry or currant, if planted without removing any of the buds, will 

 send up shoots from that part of the stem which is under ground, as well 

 as that which is above it ; and the former are properly stem-suckers. It is 

 commonly said that plants raised from suckers are more apt to produce 

 suckers than such as are raised from cuttings ; and the reasons are, that the 

 sucker has always more buds at its base, unless in the case of a cutting which 

 has been slipped off with a portion of the joint from which it protruded. It 

 is also to be observed that plants which naturally produce suckers, such as 

 the plum, or the everlasting pea, will produce them in whatever manner 

 they may be propagated, though, doubtless, not so soon when they are pro- 

 pagated by cuttings of the extremities of the branches as from suckers, more 

 especially if the buds on that part of the cuttings which are to be buried in 

 the soil are cut clean out, as is frequently done in the case of cuttings of 

 gooseberries and currants. Many herbaceous plants are propagated by 

 root-suckers ; a number of shrubs, such as the lilac, the spiraea, the rasp- 

 berry, &c., and some trees are occasionally so propagated, such as the white, 

 trembling, and balsam poplars, the English elm, &c. The suckers of her- 

 baceous plants are chiefly taken off in spring and autumn, when they are in 

 a growing state, and those of ligneous plants late in autumn, when the sap 

 is dormant ; but suckers of both kinds may be taken off" at any season, pro- 

 vided those which are in a growing state are put into a moist atmosphere 

 ^nd shaded. 



633. Stem-suckers or slips may be described as shoots which proceed from 

 the coUai', or above it from the lower part of the stem, and which have few 

 or no roots, unless the stem has been earthed up. Heading down plants, 

 or otherwise rendering the top inadequate for the due appropriation of the 

 supply of sap furnished by the roots, favours the production of stem- 

 suckers. The tendency is also induced in consequence of any sudden 

 check given to the foliage, such as that arising from excessive drought, 

 or the depredations of insects, more especially if the roots are at the 

 same time growing in rich, moist soil. These shoots, being drawn or 

 slipped off^, are planted and treated as cuttings, and they are found to 

 root more readily than shoots taken from the plant at a greater distance 

 from the root. To produce slips on the lower parts of stems they may be 

 cut down, and in the case of plants in pots stimulated by an extra supply 

 of heat and moisture. The stumps of pine-apple plants are sometimes so 

 stimulated after the fruit has been gathered, and slips or suckers are in that 

 case produced by the buds which had remained dormant in the axils of the 

 leaves. I'he base of such plants as the banana, when treated in a similar 

 manner, are attended with similar results ; and by destroying the gi'owing 

 point or central bud of such plants as Yucca, Dracaena, and Zamia, and also 

 of Mammillaria, and other Cactaceae, and of all bulbs, slips, suckers, or 

 ofi^sets, will be produced from the latent buds in the axils of the leaves. 

 By eartliing up, these shoots may generally be made to emit roots before 

 being separated from the parent plant ; or they may be slipped off^ without 

 roots, and treated as cuttings. Cuttings or layers from the branches of 

 coniferous plants sometimes continue growing a number of years before they 

 throw up a leading shoot ; but this result may be obtained much sooner 

 than it otherwise would be by pegging down the entire plants, when a stem- 

 sucker will be produced, as in fig. 191, in consequence of the check given 



