INFLUENCE OF GRAFTS AND STOCKS. 85 



varieties of the large flowered, or rather large leaved kinds, of the 

 Phoenicea and alba type remain very true, and sports among them 

 are exceedingly rare, — indeed, we ourselves do not know of one. 



As has been stated, the time to prepare an essay, as well as 

 the time allowed for reading it, has been too brief to do more than 

 to glance at the subject of sports, and bring it before you for 

 discussion. I trust that the few instances I have mentioned of 

 the origin of sports will show you the importance of observation. 

 No doubt many interesting additions might have been made to 

 our variety of plants, had the cultivators of fifty years ago been 

 as numerous or unremitting in their labor as those of recent years. 

 The number now who are on the lookout for every sport is legion, 

 and the yearly additions to our catalogues show that they are not 

 idle. 



TuE Reciprocal Influence of Grafts and Stocks. 



Here we approach that part of our essay upon which a great 

 deal has been written and various opinions expressed, and so far as 

 we can learn, with very little additional knowledge gained. The 

 experiments to test the influence of stock and scion must be 

 numerous and continued for many years to arrive at any certain 

 results. 



" The influence of the scion on the stock is very limited," says 

 Loudon, " and as far as experience has hitherto gone, it consists 

 only in communicating disease. The only proof of this is the fact 

 of a bud of variegated common jasmine having been inserted in a 

 species without variegated leaves, and having communicated its 

 variegation to the entire plant, both above and below the graft. 

 This, De Candolle observes, is in accordance with the theory of 

 Moretti, that vai'iegation, being a disease, can be propagated in a 

 tree in every direction. We are not aware, however, that there is 

 any example on record of a variegated holly having communicated 

 its variegation to the stock." 



The variegation communicated to the jasmine is the only instance 

 that we in our experience know of, except with the abutilon, which 

 is familiar to most of us here. The variegated Ahtitilon Thompsoni, 

 as is well known, communicates its variegation to such grafts as 

 may be inserted upon it, and vice versa, the new and fine sorts hav- 

 ing been obtained in this way. 



The only influence we can trace in all our experiments, extend- 



