Propagation. 43 



thorns, and not at all upon plums or cherries ; while the lilac will 

 take on the ash, and the olive on the Phillyrea, because they are 

 plants of the same natural order." * 



There are, however, some exceptions to this rule. Thus, the cultivat- 

 ed cherry, and most species of wild cherry, though of the same genus, 

 will not agree. The pear succeeds better on the quince than on the 

 apple, although the apple and pear are within the same genus, and 

 the pear and quince are by most regarded as of distinct genera ; the 

 superior firmness of the wood of the quince, a quality so important 

 to successful grafting, more than compensates the difference in 

 affinity. 



Lindley mentions also some exceptions which are apparent only. 

 In one case, the fig was supposed to grow on the olive. But the 

 graft, being below the surface of the soil, rooted independently of 

 the fig-stock. " I have seen," says Pliny, " near Thulia, in the 

 country of the Tiburtines, a tree grafted and laden with all manner of 

 fruits, one bough bearing nuts, another berries ; here hung grapes, 

 there figs ; in one part you might see pears, in another pome- 

 granates ; and to conclude, there is no kind of apple or other fruit 

 but there was to be found ; but this tree did not live long." ' This is 

 explained by the process now sometimes performed in Italy, for grow- 

 ing jasmines and other flexible plants on an orange-stock, by the 

 ingenious trick of boring out the orange stem, through which the 

 stems of the other plants are made to pass, and which soon grow so 

 as to fill it closely, and to appear as if growing together. Such a 

 crowded mass of stems must, of course, soon perish. 



* Lindley, Theory Hort. 



