1900.] kssavs. 57 



the good brunch into wild stock, nor do wo make a practice of 



grafting a tree with its own branches. If the translation is cor- 



rect I should not want to turn a second Paul loose among my 



trees, but rather would I call upon that genius, that great all 



around man, who more than any other man of whom we have a 



record, possessed an insight into almost everything and every 



subject, the great immortal Shakespeare, who says in a Winter's 



Tale: 



"You see, sweet maid, we marry 

 A gentle scion to the wildest stock, 

 And make couceive a hark of baser kind 

 By bud of nobler race; this is an art 

 Which does mend Nature; change it rather; but 

 The art itself is Nature." 



This was written over three hundred years ago, and if I were 

 to study three hundred more I could not improve upon this 

 concise and correct description. But to enlarge upon Shake- 

 speare's beautiful imagery and go more into details. 



Grafting is an operation by means of which we unite a plant 

 or tree, or more commonly a portion of a plant or tree, to 

 another plant or tree which will support it, and furnish it with a 

 part of the nutriment for its growth. The tree which is grafted 

 is called the stock. The part which is grafted on is called the 

 graft or scion, and when used should be in good condition, fresh 

 and not dry or mouldy. The great object of grafting is to pre- 

 serve and propagate a great number of trees and plants which 

 could not be reproduced by any other means of multiplication ; 

 and without grafting and budding, we should not have such 

 a rich collection of fruits for all seasons of the year, while in 

 many cases we should have to wait long years for results which 

 we obtain almost at once by grafting, especially in that form 

 which we call double working. 



In grafting, as in many other arts, a great deal of the success 

 of the work depends on the skill of the operator. Other 

 essentials for success arc a favorable season and mild tempera- 

 ture, affinity between the species, vigor of stock and scion, their 

 intimate union and condition of sap. 



In the short time at my disposal this afternoon I cannot go 



