"28 Neio application of grafting, [Jan. 



which is, to suggest a new application of grafting or in- 

 arching, the process usually adopted in India. Grafting, it is 

 well known, is a very ancient art. Formerly it was more 

 practised to astonish the ignorant than for any really useful 

 purpose, but in modern times, it is rarely employed except to 

 gain some desirable object, such as rendering trees fruitful, 

 improving the qualities of the fruit, preserving or rapidly 

 multiplying the finer varieties of fruit-trees, or ornamental 

 trees and shrubs, changing the sorts of fruit on any tree ( ; and 

 many others. The new application to which I wish to call 

 attention, is that of rendering it a means of naturalizing new 

 fruits among us. 



It is well known, that many trees brought from coun- 

 tries not very distant, will not grow, say for example, in 

 gardens at Madras, or if they do grow, will not perfect 

 or even bear fruit. The failure is usually attributed to the 

 uncongenial climate and considered irremediable. Of course 

 no steps are taken to remove an obstacle believed insur- 

 mountable, to change the climate of a country, being indeed 

 far beyond the reach of human ingenuity. So long as such 

 an opinion prevails every new attempt will only tend to con- 

 firm it, by an additional failure. Before however adopting 

 such a discouraging opinion, we ought to satisfy ourselves^ 

 that we have carefully guarded against every source of fallacy 

 that mi ght tend to mar the success of our experiment. 

 Subject as we all are, in this country, to frequent change of 

 place, it has fallen to the lot of few, to enjoy opportunities of 

 conducting such a course of experiments to a successful con- 

 clusion, and to fewer still the requisite degree of skill and 

 knowledge of vegetable physiology. Now however, times 

 are changed. The formation of a society in some measure 

 pledged to the undertaking, having an experimental garden 

 under its control and among its members talented men, fitted 

 by tastes and previous pursuits, for conducting such an expe- 

 rimental inquiry, to a successful termination, if success be at- 

 tainable, or if not, of setting such questions at rest for ever, 

 we have no longer any excuse for leaving them in doubt. 



It appears to me that there is room to doubt the correct- 

 ness of the opinion which attributes failure to change of 



