PRINCIPLES OF PLANT CULTURE 
CHAPTER I. 
INTRODUCTORY 
Before taking up a systematic study of plant culture, we 
may profitably consider a few principles of a more general 
nature. 
1. The Difference between Art and Science. Art is 
simply knowing how to do a thing without reference to 
reasons. Science considers the reasons for doing it in a 
particular manner. Artimplies more or less of skill gained 
through practice. Science implies a knowledge of the ob- 
jects to be gained by a given operation and the conditions 
affecting the process. 
An intelligent but ignorant person might be taught to 
prepare and insert a cion (386)* in the most approved manner. 
This pertains to the art of grafting. The same person 
might be taught the reasons why each step of the process is 
performed in its particular manner. This pertains to the 
science of grafting. One may become a skilled grafter 
without learning the science of grafting, but he cannot 
graft intelligently. The artisan, however skillful, who knows 
only the art, cannot become a master workman in the highest 
sense until he learns also the science that underlies his trade. 
* The numbers in parenthesis in the text refer to the numbered paragraphs in 
this book, and are intended to help students to a better understanding of the 
subject. 
