THE SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 329 



These are creations that do tlie woi-ld ^ood, 

 Treasures and pleasures with health in our food, 

 I'leasures which leave in the memory no stin;;, 

 No grief in tlie soul; no stain on Time's wing. 



For fruitage and flowers let praises arise 

 From earth's utn)OSt bound to lieaven's highest skies. 

 Songs of rejoicing where'er they are fountl. 

 Songs of thanksgiving where'er they abound. 



CAN GRAFTING CHANGE VARIETIES. 



Upon this often discussed question our keen observer, Mr. H. E. Bidwell of 

 Plymouth, remarks in the Country Gentleman : 



III the nursery, where wc take pieces of seedling apple roots and graft cions 

 of different varieties of apples on them, the roots in one year partake of the 

 characteristics of the variety grafted in. A variety having a straight, upright 

 top sends down a few correspondingly straight roots. A variety with a thick 

 spreading top makes numerous spreading roots. An observing nurseryman 

 can therefore distinguish some varieties by the roots. Most apple trees are 

 grown in this way and by it tend to retain their characteristics, even the pecul- 

 iar markings of the shoots. The Golden Kusset, for example, always has its 

 smooth, yellowish bark dotted with white spots on the limbs and trunk, and 

 the pencil markings of the grain of the inner bark extend from the leaves to 

 the ends of the roots, accepting from the soil certain food required for that 

 variety of leaf, flower, and fruit. 



Where buds are put into two-years-old seedling apple trees, the seedlings being 

 variable, it requires several years to change the roots to make the nursery trees 

 of a variety similar, and the time required to change with a weak growing 

 graft is greater than with a strong grower, the trunk and roots still performing 

 their office for the original variety. The graft receiving the sap furnished by 

 the roots, some elements are in excess and some deficient for the requirements 

 of the leaf of the new variety. A great difference in the characteristics of two 

 varieties will produ*ce a perceptible difference in effect on the growth of that 

 graft, on the size and color of the leaf and fruit. I have a great many varie- 

 ties of apple trees top-grafted to Red Canada, that most difficult variety to 

 establish, and I can see a perceptible difference in some of the fruit. Six Lady 

 apple trees, limb-grafted to Red Canada, produce smaller, greener, and better 

 keeping apples than a tree of Black Detroit grafted to Red Canada, which 

 bears apples twice the size, darker colored, and poorer keepers. A scalloped 

 variety of apples in my orchard gives its scallops to the apples of Red Canada 

 grafted on it, all the apples on the five trees having similar scollops. They 

 have borne the past four years and still retain the scollops. I have grafted 

 these scolloped Red Canada apples on other trees to establish the variation. 



Prof. Beal writes to me on this as follows: "I have in my cellar two lots of 

 Red Canadas, one grown on top of a Spy tree and one on Early Harvest. 

 Apples from the latter rot first and are less brilliant in color. I believe what 

 you say of the effect of graft and stock. It is now well established that the 

 atock and graft more or less affect each other."' 



