Propagated by seeds, suckers and divisions. The best time to divide is just as the plants are starting into growth in spring.
Aponogeton. Naiadaceæ.
Increased rapidly by seeds and offsets. The seeds should be sown as soon as ripe, in pots buried in loam, and covered with glass.
Standard apple stocks are grown from seeds, and dwarf stocks from layers. Apple seeds are either imported from France or are obtained from pomace. The French seeds give what are technically known as crab stocks, the word crab being used in the sense of a wild or inferior apple. The yearling stocks themselves are imported from France in great numbers. It has been supposed that French crab stocks are hardier and more vigorous than ours, but this opinion is much less common than formerly, and the foreign stocks are not so popular now as the domestic stocks.
The chief source of apple seeds at the present time is the pomace from cider mills. The “cheese” of pomace is broken up, and if the material is dry enough it may be run through a large sieve to remove the coarser parts. The seeds are then removed by washing. Various devices are in use for washing them out. They all proceed upon the fact that the pomace will rise in water and the seeds sink. Some use a tub or common tank, which is tilted a little to allow the water to flow over the side. Others employ boxes some seven or eight feet long, four feet wide and a foot deep, the lower end of which is only eleven inches deep to allow the escape of the water. This box is set upon benches, and a good stream of water is carried into it at the upper end. A bushel or two of pomace is emptied in at a time, and it is broken and stirred with a fork or shovel. When the seeds are liberated they fall to the bottom and the refuse runs over the lower end. Another box is provided with several cleats, at intervals of about a foot, and the ends are left open. The box is set at an angle, and the seeds are caught behind the cleats. Seeds must not stand long in the pomace pile, or they will be seriously injured. Nurserymen like to secure the pomace as soon as it is taken from the press.
As soon as the seeds are collected, they should be spread upon tables or boards, and should be frequently turned until perfectly dry. They may then be stored in boxes in slightly damp sand or sawdust, or in powdered charcoal and kept in a cool and dry place until spring. Or if they are to be sown immediately they need not be dried, but simply mixed with enough dry sand to absorb the water so as to make them easy to handle Seeds should not be allowed to become hard and dry through long exposure to the air, or they will germinate unevenly. Apple seeds procured at the seed stores are often worthless because of this neglect. Very dry seeds can sometimes be grown, however, by subjecting them to repeated soakings and then sprouting in a gentle hot-bed or mild forcing-house. Change the water on the seeds every day, and at the end of a week or ten days mix with sand and place in a thin layer in the hot-bed. Stir frequently to prevent molding. When the seeds begin to sprout, sow them in the open ground. This operation, which is sometimes called pipping, may be performed in a small way by the kitchen stove. Seeds are sometimes “pipped” between moist blankets. (See also [page 17].)
When sowing is done in the fall, the seeds may be sown in the pomace. This entails extra labor in sowing, but it saves the labor of washing. This practice gives good results if the pomace is finely broken, and it is now common among nurserymen.
In loose and well-drained soils, sowing is undoubtedly best performed in the fall, just as early as the seeds are ready. But upon land which holds much water, and which heaves with frost or contains much clay, spring sowing is preferable. In spring, the seeds should be sown just as soon as the ground can be worked.