PROPAGATION OF FRUIT TREES. 



209 



at the desired results, and among his principal reasons 

 for grafting are the following: 



" (i) To increase the stock of those plants which cannot 

 readily be raised from seeds, cuttings, or other rapid means 

 of propagation ; also those which do not fruit freely when 

 growing on their own roots. Thus, when grafted, fruit is 

 produced in the course of a few years, whereas, had the 

 plant been allowed to continue its natural growth, ten 

 or even twenty years might elapse before the tree became 

 sufficiently matured to produce a heavy crop. 



Fig. 78. SCIONS FOR GRAFTING FRUIT TREES. 



A and S, suitable shoots to form scions ; A, however, is more preferable 

 because better shaped. C, scions tied together. 



** (2) To keep the varieties of plants true to their charac- 

 ter, as many plants, such as Apples and other varieties 

 of fruits, when raised from seed, revert to types of inferior 

 quality to the parent. 



" (3) ^7 tne a id f gr&ftmg, the natural habit of a plant 

 can be altered, and this process usually takes the form 

 of * dwarfing,' which is so essential to their arrangement 

 and growth in gardens of limited area, and where the sur- 



