EFFECTS OF THE CRAFTING AND BUDDING OF TREES. 343 



It strongly indicates too, how impossible it is to gain a Difficult to at- 

 thorough idea of the juices of trees, since to procure them {^ a f n ° t J^ 

 they must be mixed; and no person can, I think, dissect different juices 

 trees without perceiving the astonishing pains nature takes oftrees# 

 to prevent this mixture, which would probably render futile 

 all the intentions of nature. How then are we to judge of 

 them, when we get them only by wounding the tree? in 

 barking we get two juices of a very different nature, for 

 that in the rind is purer than the sap in general, and often 

 very bitter ; then there is the juice of the circle of life, which 

 is clammy, and approaching to syrup; and an almost plain 

 water, that is often to be found concealed between the folds 

 of the pith. All these should be procured singly, to be 

 able to understand them. 



I shall now return to the grafts : having described as wood of grafts 

 minutely as possible the manner in which the two branches requires a new 

 of the grafts join, I shall mention also, that the woods as ^e^ to J ° m 

 well as the bark must have a new piece to join the wood 

 of the stosk and scion together; as will be seen in the 

 plate. It often happens that the white undulating line be- 

 fore mentioned, which is the line of life, a little intercepts 

 their meeting, but this is soon conquered ; the line of life is 

 always to be traced from the pith of the stock to the pith 

 of the scion, as if to establish the communication of life, 

 which adds another proof to those before adduced in my 

 4th letter, (See vol. xxiii, p. 334,) that it is the most im- 

 portant part of the plant, and truly what I have named it, 

 the circle of life, or propagation. In looking over Duha- 

 niel, I was not a little pleased to see he had marked its con- 

 sequence, but was uncertain what to call it. 



I shall now mention the folly of expecting heterogeneous Heterogeneous 

 mixtures in grafting or budding to succeed, black noses, g^ingoMjod- 

 &c. That a plant should be capable of receiving its nou-dino ; cannot 

 rishment through the cylinders of another plant, is astonish- sutcee • 

 ing; but it must at once appear how much this miracle 

 must be increased, if two plants are taken, which in their 

 mature are wholly different. . That such a mixture may be 

 made by applying the powder of the stamen of one plant to 

 the pistil of another, I know, but not in the way of graft j 



