CRAFTING, OR HORTICULTURAL CONVERSION. 297 



whole strength into the increasing graft. The 

 tree will submit kindly to this considerate treat- 

 ment, though it will not stand a square cut from 

 sinner to saint, but right through its bark, every- 

 where will throw out buds of the old stock with 

 resentful frequency and power. I do not know 

 how it is with my brethren, but I find the same 

 principle holds good in the parish. 



At any rate, this treatment was most successful 

 on the subject described, and I gradually in- 

 duced all its abounding vigor to go into the 

 graft alone, and last summer it bore some of the 

 largest, finest cherries I ever saw. 



This suggests a very serious blunder I once 

 made, while seeking to bring about a certain 

 horticultural reformation. In this case the tree 

 was past the sapling stage, and might be de- 

 scribed in its early prime, reminding one of a 

 young man at the age of twenty-five. 



Indeed, it did remind me of several young 



