GRAFTAGE GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 133 



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the vigor of defective or exhausted trees and shrubs by 

 influx of fresh sap. 4, To facilitate reproduction of 

 monoecious or dioecious plants by grafting in cions of 

 the lacking sex. 5, To propagate and preserve varieties 

 of countless woody and some herbaceous plants which 

 cannot be conveniently reproduced by other means. 



197. Necessity for graftage. Since seedage is quicker 

 and cheaper, graftage is rarely employed to propagate 

 species, and then only such species as produce seed spar- 

 ingly under cultivation are so reproduced. For similar 

 reasons cuttage and layerage are preferred for most 

 shrubs. Graftage finds its chief application, therefore, 

 in the propagation of varieties and strains of woody 

 plants that do not come true from seeds and that cannot 

 be cheaply or conveniently enough grown from cuttings, 

 layers or by other asexual methods. All our named 

 varieties of tree fruits, nuts and many ornamentals such 

 as azaleas and roses (not all roses, by any means) are 

 propagated by one or more methods of graftage. As in 

 other asexual methods, graftage will produce the same 

 variety as the parent tree or shrub, bud sports excepted. 



For these reasons graftage is a necessary business 

 process, because nowadays planters demand stock true 

 to a definite standard of quality, size, trueness to type and 

 ability to meet other requirements which can be met, 

 at least among woody and many herbaceous plants, only 

 by asexual means, among which graftage has been proved 

 by commercial nurseries to be the most economical. If 

 this were not so, other methods would be followed ; for 

 the nurserymen are human enough to choose the methods 

 that give results most satisfactory to all concerned ; other- 

 wise they could not long be in the business. Hence we 

 find pome fruits still largely root-grafted in winter 

 (though budding is gaining in popularity), pit fruits bud- 

 ded in summer, currants grown from spring-set cuttings 

 each kind of plant propagated by the method that suits 

 it best and most economically gives best results. 



