384 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
the roots in digging &c, but they also arise naturally and 
seem especially characteristic of certain varieties. 
Liability to Disease. — Notes were taken on this point both as an aid 
to looking after the nursery-bed, and in the hope of eventually 
selecting certain root systems possessing some degree of immunity 
in this country to disease. In Australia " resistant " stocks 
are used, but those varieties do not prove " resistant " here. 
B. The Descriptions of Root Characters include : 
The Number and Position of the Roots. — Sometimes the roots appear 
in clusters, at other times almost singly. 
On some types this adventitious rooting is almost confined 
to the base of the shoot, on others it appears as far as the shoots 
are earthed up. 
Sometimes the best rooting appears on the "heel" of old 
wood, whence the young growth has arisen. 
Adventitious roots are those which do not arise from the original root 
of any seedling. Since Paradise stocks are normally raised 
from layers and not from seed, all the roots produced by this 
method are adventitious roots. In contrast, the original or 
primary root of the commercial " free stock," which is raised 
from seed, is not adventitious. 
The Quality (Nature) of Roots. — The young adventitious roots seem 
to vary in their stage of development. They are all fibrous 
adventitious roots, but in some cases these roots- — which may 
be termed " roots of the first order " — have become branches 
and well furnished with more fully developed fibre. These 
fibrous offshoots from the roots of the first order (the original 
adventitious roots) may be conveniently termed " adventitious 
roots of the second order." 
Type of Rooting on the 4-year-old cordons. The object here is 
to distinguish between those types which are well furnished 
with fibre and those which possess mainly strong coarse lateral 
roots and little fibre. The word " coarse " is used in Table VI. 
in reference to these main lateral roots. 
Spread and Depth of coarse (or lateral) Roots on 4-year-old cordons. 
The object here is to describe, as far as possible, the rooting 
habit — whether deep or surface rooting, whether of small or 
wide circumference. 
Anchorage. — This term refers to the hold which the coarse roots 
possess on the soil as experienced in " lifting " the cordons. 
One and Two Year Bedded Stocks. — This term has been used to describe 
stocks raised in the following manner. It is a common practice 
to select annually from the parent stool the sturdiest-looking 
shoots. The shoots can scarcely be termed layers, as they 
are often very poorly rooted, and sometimes without any roots. 
They are bedded in the ground like cuttings for a period of one 
