TRANSACTIONS OF NORTHERN ILL. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 26T 



Mr. McWhorter — My experience agrees with that of Mr. Bryant ; 

 the time of ripening, blossoining, or leafing out is not affected, neither is 

 the (quality or size of fruit changed ; for instance, the Rawles' Janet will 

 not blossom or leaf out any earlier by grafting upon the Yellow Bellflower 

 — a tree which puts out and blooms early. An apple grafted on a pear 

 stock may be changed in color and appearance without a material change 

 in the quality of fruit. Any thing that affects the circulation, may affect 

 the fruit in size. 



Mr. McAfee — I have seen specimens of Ben Davis, grown upon 

 Hyslop Crab stocks, which were inferior in size and insipid in flavor. I 

 knew cions of the Wine Apple, grafted upon dissimilar stocks, which 

 produced fruit quite dissimilar. I do not know wliy we may not believe 

 the stock affects the fruit, for we know that the cion does affect the stock; 

 the roots upon which are grafted different varieties, take on the habit of 

 growth of the several varieties. 



Mr. Montague had had considerable experience in grafting ; he had 

 grafted different varieties upon crab apples, but had not observed that 

 the stock affected the quality of the fruit ; even a sweet apple so grafted 

 retained its characteristic flavor and quality. 



Mr. Bryant .said he did not deny the statements made by Messrs. 

 Spafford and McAfee, but regarded the instances as exceptions to a gen- 

 eral rule. He admitted that the crab apple stock might affect the quan- 

 tity of fruit generally, but that did not touch the question ; as the wild 

 crab is a different species. 



Quite an animated discussion ensued, participated in by Messrs. 

 Douglas, Wrigh*-, Spafford, Bryant, Powell, Woodard, and others, all 

 agreeing that the cion influences the roots, but that the roots or stock do 

 not affect the qualities of the fruit. 



Mr. Douglas said that every variety preserved its identity upon 

 whatever stock of the common apple {^pyrus mains) it was grafted, but 

 admitted that fruit would deteriorate when worked upon crab apples. 



He stated that if a piece of bark be inserted upon the body of 

 another variety of apple tree, the bark and the wood formed under it 

 would retain their identity. 



Mr. Budd, oflowa, said he had once heard the claim made, as in 

 the essay, that stocks would affect the quality of fruit, and had made (juite 

 extensive experiments, so as to arrive at the facts in the case ; and the 

 result is that he stands where Mr. Bryant and Mr. McWhorter do upon 

 this question. He had noticed, however, that crab apple stocks affect 

 fruit unfavorably. This had been proved in Vermont by extensive graft- 

 ing upon the.se stocks, with a view of obtaining hardier trees; and it was 

 found that the fruit deteriorated in quality so much that the practice was 

 abandoned. 



A member spoke of experiments with the the Bethlemite apple, which 

 had been quite extensively grafted upon the wild crab apple, in one 

 locality in Northern Illinois; but the fruit continued to deteriorate in 

 size and quality, until it became, after five or six cro])s, almost worth- 

 less. 



