183S] 



FA RAIEKS' REG I ST 10 IL 



6si 



But it is possible that a little consitleraiioii may 

 show ih;it these suhjpetf do not s'rietiy come with- 

 iusr I lie brope of the lollowiiiix paijes. 



In the firpt place, a distinction irnist he drawn 

 between the ^/rt and the Sr.ieiice of Horliculture; 

 the Ibinier i-eaches the manner, the laiter the rea- 

 sons ol" cnhivation; and it is to the laf.er only thai 

 these propositions apply. Secondly, ihe plan of 

 thissketch excludes every thini^that is merel}- spe- 

 culative, or that is incapable of being reduced wiih- 

 in certain fixed pruiciples. 



Electriciiy is a power of which we know al- 

 most nolhitiij certain, with relerence to vegetation; 

 if manv thiiiijcs have been written about it, it 

 must be admiitedj at least, that very little has 

 been proved. 



The same may be said of mannres: the theory I 

 of their action isexi)Iained at paragraphs 19, 262, ! 

 and 266. ! 



Pruning and training are a part of the Art of i 

 Cultivation, dependent upon a great variety ofi 

 physiological laws, the brief explanation of which I 

 is the object of this work. A few hints upon the j 

 subjpct wi'l, however, be found in chapters iii, | 

 IV. vr, and viii. 1 



The various modes of grafhng are also a part i 

 of the art of Horliculture: and are deduced fi'oiu i 

 ■Jaws explained in the xivth chapter. I 



To conclude; the reader should, above all ihingg | 

 bear in mind, that he ought not lo form his opin- j 

 ion upon any point from the mere consideration ofi 

 one -or two isolated propositions, but of the whole 

 of the phenomena which is to be the object of the 

 followinir pairee to explain. For lie will find that 

 the vital actions of plants are so dependent 

 upon each other, and of so complicated a nature, 

 that, while the whole can be only understood by 

 a study of the parts, neither can any of the parts 

 be exactly understood, without a knowledge of 

 the whole. 



I. General Nature of Plants. 



1. Horliculture is the application of the arts of 

 cultivation, nniltiplication, and domestication, to 

 the vegetable kinirdom. Aijricullure and Arbori- 

 culture are branches of Horticulture. 



2. The vegetable kinirdom is composed of" liv- 

 ing beings, destitute of sensation, with no power of 

 moving spontaneously from place to place, and 

 called plants. 



3. Plaiits are organized bodies, consisting of 

 masses of tissue that is permeable b}' fluids or gas- 

 eous matter. 



4. Vegetable tissue consists either of minute 

 bladders, or tubes adhering by their contiguous 

 surfaces, and leaving intermediate passages where 

 they do not touch. 



5. Tissue is called Cellular when it is composed 

 of minute bladders, which either approach the j 

 figure of a sphere, or are obviously some modifi- I 

 cation of it, supposed to be caused by extension or | 

 lateral compression. 



6. When newly formed, it is in a very lax state, 

 and possesses great powers of absorption; proba- [ 

 bly in consequence of the excessive permeability of 

 its membrane and the imperfect cohesion ol' its 

 cells. 



7. Cellular tissue, otherwise called Parenchy- 

 ma, constitutes the soft a; id brittle parts of plants; 

 .such as pith, pulp, the spaces between the veins 



of leaves, the principal part of the petals; and the' 

 like. 



8. Succulent plants are such as have an exces- 

 sive developement ol' the cellular tissue. 



9. It may be considered (he most essential kind 

 of tissue, because, while no plants exist without 

 it, tnanv are composed of nothing else. 



10. Tissue is called JVoiuhj Fibre when if is 

 composed of slender tubes, which are conical and 

 clo-^e at each end. and placed side by side. 



11. Wood v Fibre is what causes si illness and 

 tenacity in certain parts of plants; hence it is 

 fbniid in the veins of leaves, and in bark, and it 

 corislitutes the principal part of the wood. 



12. Vascular Tissue is that in which either an 

 elastic tough thread is generated spirally within a 

 tube that is closed anil conical at each end ; or 

 rows of cylindrical cellules placed end to end, 

 finally becoming continuous tubes by the loss of 

 their ends. 



13. The most remarkable form of vascular tis- 

 sue is the Spiral vessel, which has the power of 

 unrollinij with elasticity when stretched. 



14. Other kinds of vascular tissue are incapa- 

 ble of unrolling, but break when stretched. 



15. Spiral vessels are not Ibtmd in the wood or 

 bark, and rarely in the roots of plants. 



16. Vascular tissue of other kinds is confined to 

 the root, stem, veins of leaves, petals, and o,th,eir 

 parts composed of leaves. It is not found; in, 

 bark. 



17. The common office of the tissue is to con- 

 vey fluid or air, and not to act as the receptacle of 

 secretions. 



18. Cellular tissue conveys fluids in all direc- 

 tions, absorbs with great rapidity, is the first cause 

 of the adhesion that take place between contigu- 

 ous parts, and is the principal receptacle of secret- 

 ed matter. 



19. Adhesion will take place at all times during 

 the growing season, when the cellular tissue of 

 twodiff'erent parts, or of two different plants, is 

 kept for sometime in conlact; but as none but tis- 

 sues of nearly the same nalure will adhei:e, graft- 

 intj and budding, which are caused by the adhe- 

 sion of contiguaus parts, can only take place 

 either beiween difleretit varieties of the same 

 species, or between nearly related species ; and 

 even ihen, only when the correspondmg parts of 

 the scion or bud, and the slock, are placed in con- 

 tact. 



20. Woody fibre conveys fluid in the direction 

 of its length, gives stiti'uess and flexibility to the 

 general system, and acts as a protection to spiral 

 and other delicate vessels. 



21. Spiral vessels convey oxygenated air. 



22. Other vessels piobably conduct fluid when 

 young, and air when old. 



23. As the bodies of which all tissue is com- 

 posed are perfectly simple, unbranched, and regu- 

 lar in figure, having when elonga»ed, their two 

 extremities exactly alike, they are more or less 

 capable of conveying gaseous matter or fluids in 

 any direction; and, consequently, a current may 

 be reversed in them without inconvenience; lience, 

 inverted cuttings or stems will grow. 



24. All parts of plants are composed of tissue, 

 whether they be soft, as the pulp, or hard as the 

 bony lininff of a Peach. 



25. With regard to Horticultural operations, the 

 parts of plants should be considered under the 



