"Yes," said Prue, putting out three fingers. "Annuals that have to die every fall, like my sweet-pease. Bi-yennials, that have to die every other fall, like Davy's turnips. Only we don't let 'em die--we kill 'em and eat 'em just when they are ready for their best time. Perennials, that have a lot of ways to live and never die at all." The Chief Gardener laughed. "Well, that's pretty good for a little girl. I think we might almost make a poem out of it. "The annuals we plant each spring-- They perish in the fall; Biennials die the second year, Perennials not at all." "I've made a rhyme, too," said Prue. "It's about the kinds of plants in a different way. This is it: "The kinds of plants are these-- Herbs, shrubs, and trees." "Why, I think we shall have to make up some more," said the Chief Gardener. "It will help us to remember." II PLANTS KNOW HOW TO SPREAD IT was not many days after this that the Chief Gardener was digging among his vines, and he called to the children, who came running. "We were talking the other day," he said, "about the many ways that old plants have of making new ones. See how this black raspberry vine is spreading." The Chief Gardener pointed to a long branch that had bent over until the end touched the earth. This end had taken root, and now a new little plant was there all formed and ready to grow the coming year. "There is another just like it," said Davy, "and another--why, there are lots of them!" "Yes, the vine sends out many of those long slender branches with a heavy little bud at the end of each to weigh it down. Such branches are called stolons, and when the bud touches the earth it sends out roots. Strawberries have runners which do the same thing. You will find plenty of them if you look in the patch." Davy and Prue went over to the strawberries and found that the vines, now red and brown from frost, had sent out runners, and made little new plants, like the black raspberries. "You see," said the Chief Gardener, "we pick the berries, which are the seeds, so all berry vines must have some other way of spreading. The red raspberries do it in a different way. They send out runners, too, but they are from the roots, and when the sprouts come up, we call them suckers. Many kinds of plants have suckers, and there are some kinds of trees sprout so badly that they cannot be used for shade." "What a lot of ways there are for plants to start!" said Davy. "Suppose we try to think of as many as we can," said the Chief Gardener. "You begin, Prue." "Seeds and roots and bend-overs and stuck-ins," said Prue. "That's four." [Illustration: A BLACK RASPBERRY VINE PREPARING TO SPREAD] Davy and the Chief Gardener laughed. "Well, that is a good start, but there are a good many kinds of roots and 'bend-overs,' and what are 'stuck-ins?'" "Why, pieces stuck in the ground to grow. Mamma does it with her geraniums."