294: 



And let these also adorn the school-house, and that buildins: towards 



which the glad sabbath directs your reverent steps ; and last, that sacred 



spot where rest the ashes of kindred dead, for there is no reason why 



the grave-yard should wear a gloomy dress, since it is the last home of 



us all. 



Truly, your friend, 



JOHN A. KENNIGOTT. 



To Albert C. Ingham, Esq. 



Sec. of the }Vis. State Agr. Society. 



SEEDLINGS versus GRAFTS, OR TOP-GRAFTS versus ROOT- 

 GRAFTS. 



BY F. K. PHCENIX. 



These subjects having been touched upon by the writer in a communi- 

 cation published in the first volume of the Transactions are deemed wor- 

 thy of more special notice. 



Seedlings it is not necessary to define. Grafted or budded sorts are 

 those selected from the former, on account of the superiority of the fruit 

 and other good qualities, as hardihood and productiveness, and propaga- 

 ted mostly by grafting or budding, generally upon seedling stocks, or 

 until within twenty-five years, when an improvement or innovation called 

 root-grafting, has been widely introduced. 



With respect to the general system of grafting or budding, it would be 

 folly to question its safety and utility when properly used, though, unques- 

 tionably, an operation to be resorted to when necessary, and avoided when 

 practicable. The point is, simply, to what extent shall this practice be 

 carried ? and in view of the vast importance of Horticulture — in view of 

 its increasing risks and responsibilities — everything pertaining to that 

 prime operation should be carefully investigated. 



Grafting or budding, considered as an abstract mechanical operation, 

 performed under favorable circumstances — as, for instance, to graft or 

 bud a young tree with its own wood — cannot be regarded as inherently 

 objectionable or dangerous, or as exerting any possible influence, other 

 than for the time being to lessen its size and retard its growth. It is only 

 in its perversions or accidents, its newly created world of changes and 



