4 

 STEMS AND BRANCHES AND THEIR USES 225 



varieties that are easily raised from seed. Sometimes a 

 valuable plant produces seeds abundantly, but its seeds do 

 not " come true." For instance, the seeds of our cultivated 

 apples are likely to grow into trees whose fruit is very unlike, 

 and usually poorer than, that of the parent tree. For this 

 reason, apple seedlings can be used only as stocks, upon 

 which may be grafted scions of the variety desired. 



Sometimes grafting is used for a fruit that is not well 

 adapted to the conditions of the region where it is to be 

 raised. Thus, in the southern United States the plum is 

 grafted upon the peach, whose roots grow better in sandy 

 soil than do those of the plum ; and in Russia, apple scions 

 are grafted upon stocks of the Siberian crab-apple, which is 

 better adapted to a severe climate. Sometimes the habit of 

 growth of the scion is affected by the character of the stock. 

 Thus dwarf pear trees are obtained by grafting the pear 

 upon a quince stock. The quince has a small, slowly grow- 

 ing root system, which supplies soil materials slowly to the 

 scion ; as a result, the growth of the scion is slower than it 

 would be if it were growing upon its own roots. It is only 

 by some influence upon its food supply that the stock can 

 affect the growth of the scion. Stories are told of changes 

 of other sorts caused by the influence of the stock, for ex- 

 ample in the color or flavor of the fruit or in the shape of the 

 leaves of the scion ; but such stories seem to be unfounded. 



No one can tell, except by trying, whether a plant of a 

 particular variety or species can be grafted upon one of 

 another variety or species. As a rule, a graft is more likely 

 to be successful the more closely the stock and scion are re- 

 lated. In some cases, grafting is possible only between two 

 closely related varieties ; in others, it may be carried on be- 

 tween two species of the same genus ; and some successful 

 grafts have been made between members of different genera. 

 Grafting is usually practiced with woody plants, especially 

 with trees. Many herbaceous plants can be grafted, how- 



