APPENDIX. 42T 



NURSERY HINTS. 



By L. C. CORBETT. 



Success in the nursery business follows the man who has untiring- eneroy, 

 coupled with a knowledge of the methods of his art. Growing nursery 

 stock is one of the most intensive divisions of the art of soil culture ; we 

 have to deal with small, tender plants, the success of whose growth fre- 

 quently depends upon a few hours' w'ork just at the proper time. 



Viewed from an a?sthetic standpoint, the nursery business presents quite 

 a different scene. The materials and factors with which the nurseryman 

 daily comes in contact are themselves sufficient to stimulate him to greater 

 activity, and, at the same time, to develop in him a love for nature and 

 nature's God. The man who sows a seed and rears a plant from it has wit- 

 nessed a transformation almost miraculous in its nature. But this process 

 is so common that it creates neither wonder nor admiration. Is it strange, 

 then, that the cultivators of the soil act '"by rule of thumb " and tradition 

 when they know not what they do or with what mysterious powers they are 

 dealing. It is time that we become lovers of our art rather than mere ser- 

 vants of it. Plants should become entities possessing- life and individual 

 characters which are pleasing- to us rather than mere machines for tran.s- 

 forming so much inorganic soil material and sunlight into fruits or flowers, 

 which, at the close of the season, will make us that much richer. But the 

 conception of the plant world as a great manufacturing establishment is 

 much better than no conception of it at all. Study everj* factor with which 

 the plant you are growing has to deal. The beauty, harmony and complex- 

 ity of the cycle of life of any jilant will leave you richer for having traced it. 

 After viewing one scene of nature's theater, the student will ever be asking 

 a glimpse of another. The love of witnessing this panorama is what lifts 

 the horticulturist and the agriculturist out of the sphere of the laborer into 

 that of the • investigator, and what was before irksome toil now becomes 

 pleasure, because we are prepared to enjoy what it unfolds. 



The canvas and unmixed colors without the skilled artist are no more 

 than so much clay. The soil, the plant, and the atmosphere are to most of 

 us merely so much raw material, we use them as we have been taught, with- 

 out stopping to ask why ; but as soon as the plant suggests to us its complex 

 and beautiful round of life, instead of merely what it is good for, then we 

 are led into nature's secrets of " how plants grow and how plants feed." 



The following pages, as the title indicates, are intended to stimulate an 

 interest in the art of propagating iilants. Aside from the economic features 

 of the work, the growing of plants is itself a fascinating occupation, but 

 there are so many benefits to be gained by the local production of nursery 

 stock, that fruitgrowers of a developing region cannot afford to neglect this 

 art. The introduction of dangerous pests can be avoided, scions and buds 

 from trees thoroughly acclimated can be obtained by the propagator, a 



