56 VINES 
healthy and short jointed; and, second, the plant 
will stop growing earlier in the season than a 
plant which is located in heavy soil. This 
extra time is utilized in ripening the wood, and 
thus preparing it for the attacks of a heavy 
winter. In other words, the universal law of 
the survival of the fittest produces, amid the less 
congenial surroundings, a strong individual that 
can better withstand the rigour of the winter 
season. 
Grafted plants often kill from the roots. It 
is hard to explain the reason for this, as grafting 
is usually resorted to to improve the hardiness of 
a plant, but probably, in some cases, the graft 
itself weakens and the top slowly dies the fol- 
lowing season. 
In addition to the plants that winter-kill 
because of root troubles, as illustrated above, 
there are some vines which kill to the ground 
each winter, then start a very vigorous growth 
in spring, showing plainly that the roots are unin- 
jured. The Kudzu vine (Pueraria Thunber- 
giana) is a good example of this class. It is 
commonly called an herbaceous vine in this 
latitude, but I have found it hardy with a little 
winter protection. Ordinarily, to protect tender- 
wooded plants from winter-killing, we must 
