f a long shoot, and, at about a foot
distant from the parent root, a little knob appears, having a bud to
spring into the air and a root to work into the ground: this is called a
_runner_. These may be cut away from the parent and planted separately,
and will become a new plant. Many other plants, such as roses,
raspberries, and lilacs, send from their roots little thin stems: these
are called _suckers_, and may be removed from the parent shrub and
planted by themselves, when they will become separate plants. Many
plants can be propagated by what are termed _layers_. To do this,
nothing more is necessary than to select a shoot, as near the root as
possible, and having partially divided it with a knife, make an upward
slit in it, and then placing a bit of twig between the divided parts,
press it down to the ground, burying the joint beneath the surface of
the soil. To plant from _cuttings_, some care is necessary as regards
green-house plants, but nothing is easier than to rear fresh stocks of
roses, currants and gooseberries from cuttings, as it is only necessary
to cut the shoots cleanly off, and, after reducing them to about six
inches in length, to place them in the ground with the shooting end
upwards. They should be planted about six inches apart, and after the
first year be removed to their proper situation; and they will bear
fruit in the following year. To plant from _pipings_, such as pinks and
carnations, it is only necessary to pull off one of the tubular stems,
and dividing it at or near the joint, pull off the surrounding leaves,
and insert the end or jointed part in some fine sand-mould, placing a
glass over them till they have "struck," that is, formed roots, when
they can afterwards be transplanted.

PRUNING.

[Illustration]

Little gardeners ought to know something of pruning trees. To cut or
prune gooseberry and currant-trees is very simple. Gooseberry-trees
should be cut differently from currant-trees. In gooseberry-trees, much
of the fruit grows on wood of the last year's growth, but on
currant-trees, the fruit is, for the most part, found near the knob or
joint between the old wood and the new. To prune gooseberry trees, all
the old dead wood should be cut out, and every branch that trails on the
ground should be cut away, all branches in the centre of the tree that
intersect each other, and all ugly branches, should be removed,--all
suckers should be taken from the root, and the stem of the tr