156 NATURE STUDY AND LIFE 



contaminated by the disease " peach yellows," that has 

 desolated the orchards in so many sections of this country. 

 So serious is this danger said to be, since peaches are 

 shipped from diseased orchards to all parts of the country, 

 and " yellows" peaches are not infrequently seen even in 

 horticultural fairs, that it will be much safer to purchase 

 the peach seeds from reliable nurserymen or from the 

 State Experiment Station. The peach is placed first on 

 account of its large seed, its beautiful and rapid growth, 

 the short time before it comes into bearing, and the 

 need of stimulating and popularizing culture of this 

 valuable fruit. 



The object of this work in germination is to raise plants 

 that may be used for lessons in budding and grafting and 

 for distribution throughout the neighborhood, and its needs 

 and possibilities must naturally determine the number of 

 seeds planted. A secondary purpose is to give each child 

 a chance to see one of these plants start out in life, and, 

 even if the district be fully stocked, to have a single pot 

 of fruit-tree seedlings in a schoolroom will serve to keep 

 this lore alive in the hearts of the children and prove a 

 most suggestive bit of nature-study equipment. 



The first general topic is naturally methods of saving and 

 germinating the different seeds. This may be most con- 

 veniently stated in the form of a table. (See next page.) 



The chief lesson to be learned from seed propagation is 

 that new varieties of fruits are secured in this way. The 

 seed of a Baldwin apple, for example, will not produce a 

 Baldwin. It may be a better apple, but the chances are 

 thousands to one that it will not be as good. The original 

 apple, Pyrus mains, from which our cultivated varieties are 



