THE STEM 53 
short: distance, and then in turn bends out of the soil 
and produces a flower like the first stem. A third stem 
is formed in a similar manner. In this way plants 
having root-stocks rapidly extend through the soil, and, 
when they once take hold of the ground, are very hard 
to get rid of. They are perennial and live in the soil 
through the winter though there may be no sign of them 
at the surface. At every joint these underground stems 
are able to produce buds, some of which come up through 
the soil and bear leaves, flowers, and fruit, whilst others 
produce underground shoots. In this way these structures. 
are able to form a dense interlacing mass of stems 
beneath the ground. — It is very little use to cut them 
up, for such treatment only serves to establish fresh 
‘centres of growth, seeing that every little portion bearing 
a bud can develop and grow. The only plan is to pull 
them bodily up, a process requiring much time and. 
labour. 3 
Fig. 44.—Runner of Strawberry Plant. 
In the Strawberry the plants produce what are com- 
monly known as runners. A runner develops from a 
bud which arises in the axil of a leaf, so that it is 
really a branch. This branch runs along the ground 
and produces a tuft of leaves, in the axil of one of which a 
