Mr. Knight's views, though they have taken a strong hold upon the popular mind, have not been confirmed by physiologists. For though the seed would appear to be the proper source whence to derive our new plants, and certainly our new varieties of fruits, many plants have, for an indefinite period, been propagated by layers, shoots or scions, buds, tubers, etc., and that the variety has thus been extended much beyond the period of the life of the parent or original seedling. Strawberries are propagated and multiplied by the runners, potatoes by tubers, the Tiger Lily by bulblets, some onions by proliferous bulbs, sugarcane by planting pieces of the stalk, many grapes by horizontal stems, and many plants by cuttings, for a very great length of time. The grape vine has been continued in this way from the days of the Romans. A slip taken from a willow in Mr. Knight's garden pronounced by him to be dying from old age, was planted in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden many years ago, and is now a vigorous tree, though the original stock has long since gone to decay.[11] FOOTNOTES: [3] North American Sylva, Nuttall II, p. 25. [4] Diary. [5] History of Knaresborough, p. 216.--Companion of the Orchard, p. 34. [6] Our lexicographers give it a similar origin, but refer it to the shape in which it was put up. Others derive it from _poma_, Spanish, a box of perfume. [7] Phillips' Companion, p. 32. [8] Phillips' Companion, p. 41. [9] Balfour's Manual. [10] Balfour's Manual. [11] Balfour's Manual, p. 284. CHAPTER III. PROPAGATION.--SECTION I. ALL GROWTH IS DEPENDANT UPON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CELLS. THE SEED AND THE BUD; THEIR RESEMBLANCE. THE INDIVIDUALITY OF BUDS. THE BASIS OF ALL PROPAGATION. BUDS ARE DEVELOPED INTO TWIGS; HAVE POWER OF EMITTING ROOTS. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF CELL-GROWTH. BY CUTTINGS: PREPARATION AND SELECTION. HEEL-CUTTINGS. SOFT WOOD. HARD WOOD. SEASONS FOR EACH. FALL PLANTING. THE CALLUS, OR DEVELOPMENT OF CELL-GROWTH. BOTTOM HEAT; WHY BENEFICIAL. WHY SPRING CUTTINGS FAIL. STIMULUS OF LIGHT UPON THE BUDS, CAUSES THEM TO EXPAND, AND THE LEAVES EVAPORATE TOO FREELY. ROOT CUTTINGS; DIFFERENT FRUITS THUS PROPAGATED. BY SUCKERS: OBJECTIONS TO ANSWERED. SUCKER ORCHARDS; BEAR EARLY. SUCKER TREES APT TO SUCKER AGAIN. BY LAYERS: A NATURAL METHOD. HOW PERFORMED. THE RASPBERRY AND THE GRAPE. ILLUSTRATIONS OF NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL METHODS. QUINCE STOCKS. ADJUVANTS TO LAYERING, NOTCHING, ETC. BY SEEDS: HOW IT DIFFERS FROM THE OTHERS. APPLE SEEDLINGS. THEIR TREATMENT, SEPARATING, AND PREPARING THE SEED. APPARATUS. SPROUTING. SOWING. CULTIVATION. SEEDLINGS. TREATMENT. SORTING. PACKING.