502 Introduction to the Study of Science 



the bud with natural raffia (d) . In three or four weeks the bud 

 has grown to the stalk, and the bandage should be removed 

 entirely or loosened and the stalk cut off close above the bud. 

 It is worth while to bud several hardy rose stalks with choice 

 varieties. 



Grafting. A part of a plant with several buds, but without 

 a root system, may be cut from the parent plant and grafted 

 into a root stalk, large branch, or top of a tree. This method 

 of division is employed with more or less mature, woody plants 

 like the apple, pear, peach, pecan, walnut, cherry, or plum. 

 The same root stalk may have almost any number of grafts of 

 different varieties or kinds, as it is not the root and stalk 

 of the tree, but the twig with the buds that determines the 

 character of the fruit. Burbank had more than five hundred 

 different varieties of apples upon one stalk, all growing and 

 bearing fruit after their respective character. 



Grafting is valuable in the case of trees, the roots and stalks 

 of which are not sufficiently resistant to soil, climate, and pests. 

 A sturdy, hardy, vigorously growing root stalk of the proper 

 species is grafted with the more delicate varieties. A root 

 stalk, such as the almond, may be grafted with scions of peach, 

 plum, or prune, or other suitable varieties. Wild root stalks 

 are sometimes selected, as these have a hardy, vigorous con- 

 stitution, supply abundant nourishment to tender, choice 

 varieties, and contribute to the production of more abundant, 

 larger, better flavored, and better keeping fruit. 



For details of the methods of grafting, any treatise on plant 

 culture or agricultural botany may be consulted. 



242. Seed selection. In the propagation of those plants 

 which grow true to seed or type, it is necessary to make careful 

 selection of the seed for every planting. In the first place, the 

 parent plants should be selected and their seed gathered and 

 tested for germination qualities before being planted. The 

 testing may be done in a germinating box or between pieces 

 of moist blotting paper. In testing corn, for example, several 



