33 
OF THE ROOT 
f? 
Fig. 21. 
a 
her 
Some bulbs die af 
ter the blossoming of 
the plant, and new 
ones are formed from 
the base or sides of 
the original bulb, 
which, in their turn, 
produce plants. This 
is the fact with re¬ 
spect to the orchis 
tribe; in which every 
year one bulb or tu- 
and the other throws out a new stem, (see Fig. 19, c ;) by 
this means it changes its position, though slowly, since it takes but 
one very short step each year. 
Gardeners take up their bulbous roots as often as once in two of 
three years. In some plants the new bulbs are formed beside the old 
ones; thus they become crowded, and produce inferior flowers. 
Many kinds, as the tulip and the narcissus, form the new bulbs under 
the old ones, and these become at length too deep in the earth; while 
the new bulbs of the crocus and gladiolus, and some others, grow 
above the old ones, and on account of being too near the surface, are 
liable to be injured by frosts and drought. 
Fig. 22 shows at A, a root of 
Solomon’s seal, (Convallaria ;) a, 
a, are the young bulbs of the plant; 
b marks the spot from which the 
decayed stalk of the former year 
has fallen; d, d are the fibres or 
true root of the plant. 
At B, is a root of the Ixia, or 
Blackberry Lily; a shows the 
young bulb formed above the pa¬ 
rent one, which is withering in 
consequence of imparting its vig¬ 
our to its offspring. 
The bulbous root might more properly be termed the bulbiferous 
or bulb-bearing root, since all that is truly a root is the fibrous part. 
At A, Fig. 23, is a root of this 
kind ; a shows the disk or surface 
where the fibres are attached to 
the base of the bulb ; this is the 
I root-stalk. The bulb above it con¬ 
tains the leaves, stems, and flower 
of the plant. B shows the same 
bulb cut vertically, in order to ex¬ 
pose the embryo plant. 
The production by means of 
bulbs, is only a continuation of the 
old plant, while by means of the 
seed, a new plant is brought forth. 
This is an important distinction; and it is observed that in process 
of time, a plant continued by means of reproduction, whether by 
Different farms of bulbous roots—Difference in the production of plants by means 
of bulbs and seeds—Reasons for taking up bulbous plants—Explain Fig. 22—Explain 
Fig. 23—Difference between the continuation of plants by bulbs* &c. and by raising 
from the seed. \ 
