286 GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 



Vincas and Verbenas. Among herbaceous perennials some of the Del- 

 phiniums and Rheums, also many of the umbelliferous plants have seed- 

 lings with the petioles of the seed leaves forming a long tube and looking 

 as if they were very much " drawn," no matter whether grown in sun 

 or shade. But this is their nature, as the plumule has to penetrate the 

 tube near the base in order to reach the light, instead of between the 

 blades of the seed leaves. A great many kinds of plants in the seedling 

 stage, when pricking off becomes necessary, are not of sufficient size to 

 go into small pots; in these they take up too much room and are apt to 

 suffer from too much or too little water. One will get dry here and 

 there, and the chances are that when water is given others in the neigh- 

 borhood will get water when they do not need it. Putting several in a 

 pot is just as unsatisfactory, as they must be divided up as soon as 

 sufficient growth is made, and repotted. This applies especially to her- 

 baceous plants which have a large number of fibry roots instead of a 

 tap root. I find the plan of putting the seedlings in boxes, when large 

 enough to handle, to be the most satisfactory method. Watering is then 

 an easy matter, and the seedlings, when large enough, can be trans- 

 ferred to the open ground or potted up as required it is a saving of 

 space and a saving in labor, especially when theseedlings are transferred 

 to frames and to their permanent quarters. The seeds of mauy plants 

 may be safely sown at almost any time of the year. The majority of 

 herbaceous plants should be sown during the late Summer, as they 

 occupy comparatively [little space throughout the Winter months, and 

 numerous species will bloom the succeeding year, especially if the plants 

 be put in their permanent positions in the Fall, which I have found a 

 very advisable thing to do in this section. Seeds of herbaceous plants, 

 sown early in Spring, especially by amateurs, do not help in making 

 those plants popular, as the seedlings in the majority of cases do not 

 flower the first year, and some of the species not even during the second 

 season. 



Grafting consists of placing together two separate parts of plants so 

 that they will unite and grow as one. That part on which the graft is 

 placed is usually a plant provided with roots, and is called the stock. 

 The graft, or cion, is the part which is intended to develop into the 

 future part of the tree, shrub, or vine, as the case may be, which bears 

 leaves, flowers and fruits. When the union has taken place, both stock 

 and cion continue developing as one plant, with, in most instances, very 

 little to indicate that stock and cion, or roots and branches, belong to 

 different species, varieties, or forms. Grafting is, however, frequently 

 done upon the branches of trees, shrubs or even herbaceous plants, so 

 that frequently we may see several varieties in flower together, or earlier 

 or later as the case may be, with the flowers of the species, or variety, 

 upon which the grafts are growing. Some of the reasons why grafting 

 is resorted to as a means of propagating certain species, but principally 

 varieties and forms, in preference to other methods of propagation, are 

 as follows: In growing seedling fruit trees it often requires a long num- 

 ber of years to know whether these seedlings are worth perpetuating, 

 as seedlings are apt to be a long time in fruiting, partly owing to their 

 robust growth; but every species of plant raised from seed takes a cer- 



