ROSE CULTURE. 83 



leaf. The wood of the Mauetti is so different from that of the 

 Marechal Niel, that it is unfit for a stock for tliat variety. "We 

 should seek for stocks similar in texture to the graft. The Laure 

 Davoust he thought well suited for a stock for tender roses. 



Mr. Strong recurred to the subject of the mutual influence of 

 stock and graft, and said that it was of great interest to all culti- 

 vators. Much disappointment had been experienced in the use of 

 the quince as a stock for the pear ; it is not as hardy as is desirable, 

 is subject to the borer, and requires a rich soil. Mr. Strong had 

 been engaged in the culture of the Cydonia Japonica for hedge 

 purposes, and was led to consider its fitness as a stock for the pear. 

 It is thought by botanists to be more closely allied to the pear than 

 is the common quince, being sometimes placed in the genus Py)-us. 

 When grown for hedges or ornament it is propagated by cuttings 

 of the root, and forms irregular bushes, with many suckers ; but 

 when grown from seed it makes clean, handsome plants. It is not 

 a free fruiting plant, but the speaker was fortunate in obtaining a 

 sufficient quantity of the seed to raise fifteen thousand plants, 

 which averaged two feet in height the first season, but were not as 

 stocky as pear seedlings. A small quantit}' of Cydonia Japonica 

 seedlings were budded last summer with pears, which took per- 

 fectly, and the buds look as well this spring as those on the pear. 

 The indications are so favorable that Mr. Strong was encouraged 

 to hope that this is destined to become a valuable stock for dwarf 

 culture of the pear. For the purpose of proving this question he 

 has planted out two acres of stocks for budding this summer. The 

 Bartlett pear does not succeed on the quince, for the same reason 

 that the Marechal Niel does not succeed on the Manetti stock — the 

 difference in the texture of the wood. The late John Fisk Allen, 

 who exhibited very large Seckel pears, believed that their size was 

 increased by grafting on large fruited varieties, like the Beurre 

 Diel. Roses on Manetti stocks produce larger flowers than those 

 ou their own roots, except very strong growing kinds. In answer 

 to an inquiry b}- Marshall P. Wilder, Mr. Strong said that he had 

 not observed any other plant than the abutilon where the stock was 

 inoculated by the scion. 



Mr. Wilder said that the influence of the variegated abutilon on 

 the stock had been noticed in Europe, but that it was not always 

 certain. He had tried the experiment himself, and all the shoots 

 from the stock came without variegations. There is no doubt that 



