[ay 30, 190S. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
373 
Grafting as a Means of Variation. 
n page 107 of the issue for February 
- Mr. J. Taylor gives readers of 
■ (W. ;) his views respecting the above 
u ect. On the supposition that Mr. 
r. lor tells all that he knows of the sub- 
el of “Cross Grafting/’ he is to be 
e tily congratulated on the keen percep- 
i( evinced in his note. Had he lived to 
:>)und and practise his “theory” one 
ndred years ago it is more than likely 
h his name would have become world 
a ous. 
1 1825 a Frenchman grafted Cytisus 
nmreus on the common Laburnum. It 
s ot recorded whether the man had in 
u d any possibilities beyond a good 
:t k for the Purple Broom; probably he 
i: not. The result, however, was a 
• aft hybrid ” with dull purplish flowers, 
i Laburnum Adami of the present day. 
rs tree is far from common owing to 
: difficulty experienced in propagating 
t As is the case with normally pro- 
1 ed hybrids, a reversion often takes 
r:e to the yellow Laburnum or the 
rple Broom. The writer has also seen 
,f iral specimens which produce flowers 
il hree distinct colours, (1) the dull 
rple of the true hybrid, (2) the pure 
now flowers of the Laburnum, (3) the 
r;ht purple flowers of Cytisus pur- 
rsus. At the same time, after nearly 
i entury pf cultivation, no further ad- 
•; ce has been made. 
few years ago another graft hybrid 
ie under the writer’s notice. In a nur- 
i<j' where trees were grown very exten- 
;i ly, some hundreds of the common 
3 amore had been grafted with the silver 
r. egated form. Nearly all the scions 
1 “taken,” but from some reason or 
) ;r one had united with the stock and 
1 afterwards perished. The grafts had 
r n put on standards about a man’s 
1 jht from the ground. Until late in the 
>] ng there was no sign of growth from 
i: er stock or scion. Eventually several 
;1 rts were produced from dormant buds 
'>'■ ‘he stock at least 8 or 9 inches below 
1 point where the scion had been in¬ 
i' ed. Three shoots produced variegated 
page of the same character as the trees 
1 q which the scions had been taken, 
1 fourth produced green leaves like the 
:< :mon Sycamore. Sceptics spurned the 
c i that the scion was in any way respon- 
iie-for the variegation, and suggested 
1 a variegated stock had been planted 
I in mistake with the common green 
r; ety. This, however, was impossible, 
r f such an error had been made it 
v Id have been noted at once when the 
it ks were in leaf during the previous 
II mer, before being headed down for 
I ting. The only other explanation, be- 
i s accepting the phenomenon as a 
aft hybrid,” was that the common 
ij’-n Sycamore, intended for the stock, 
1 sported. This was the only feasible 
" lanation, but in face of the fact that 
ral hundred similar trees raised from 
1 same batch of seed had shown no 
'• ation, the hybrid theory was generallv 
t'ltpted. 
had notes of a third graft hybrid, but 
cannot now trace them, and would prefer 
not to quote from memory. The instance 
was brought to my knowledge by a 
friend. 
Some ten or twelve years ago, while 
working in Messrs. Backhouse’s nursery 
at York, I had the pleasure of hearing a 
lecture given by the Rev. Norman Sal- 
mond. The title was “Cross-budding.” 
In the course of the lecture the rev. 
gentleman described how he arrived at the 
results, which were in very tempting evi¬ 
dence on a central table, in the shape of 
a splendid collection of Pears, nearly all 
of which were “cross-bud hybrid fruits.” 
Apparently the lecturer had experimented 
from a purely economic standpoint at 
first. Possessing only a garden of limited 
size, but desiring to grow a considerable 
number of varieties, he conceived the idea 
of budding new varieties, in some cases 
to the number of a dozen, on established 
trees. The budding itself was very suc¬ 
cessful, but the results from a “bud- 
hybridist’s ” point of view were varied. 
Generally speaking, it was found that the 
stock had_ a more or less powerful in¬ 
fluence on the shape, quality, flavour, 
earliness, etc., of the fruit, which was 
borne on the scion. As, for instance, 
Pear Pitmaston Duchess budded on Pear 
Beurre Hardy resulted in fruits which 
could be readily distinguished from fruits 
of the normal “ Duchess ” by reason of a 
difference in size (the hybrid fruits were 
decidedly smaller), shape, colour, and 
flavour. In some instances the influence 
of the stock could not be described as 
beneficial or desirable. 
Besides Pears, I believe Plums were ex¬ 
perimented with, but the lecturer ex¬ 
plained that the whole business was quite 
in the experimental stage, and his lecture 
was to be taken merely as suggestive of 
what might be done by experimenting in 
the selection of fruit stocks. Wbether the 
hybrid character in the fruit would be per¬ 
petuated by propagation from buds taken 
from the scion was not discussed. Judg¬ 
ing from these facts, readers of “G.W.” 
will agree that Mr. Taylor’s note was not 
all mere surmise, in reality. Although 
only woody subjects have been quoted, it 
is more than probable that much work in 
this direction has been already done. 
Erica. 
■-—♦♦4 - 
The Fever Tree. 
Some exceedingly interesting notes on 
Transvaal trees and shrubs have just been 
published from Kew Gardens. The most 
peculiar tree appears to be the “ Fever 
Tree ” of the low veldt. It appears to be 
similar lo trees seen in the “Death 
Valley,” near Waukie, South Rhodesia. 
These trees are found in the most fever 
stricken swamps, and they seem to have 
the power to give warning of the dangers 
of the locality. Mr. Burtt-Davy, in his 
learned notes, writes : “Associated with 
the smells of sub-tropical swamp growth, 
the jaundiced appearance of these ghostly 
trees-waving in the pale moonlight, pro¬ 
duces a sickly feeling sufficient to warn 
the traveller against sleeping in their 
vicinity.” 
OUT-DOOR 
Tonpatos. 
■C 
Those readers who have no greenhouse 
need not despair of growing Tomatos. If 
the right kinds are purchased—Earliest 
of All, or Early Ruby — they may be suc¬ 
cessfully raised outside, especially where 
they may have the benefit of a sunny gar¬ 
den wall. Indeed, any odd sunny space 
may be utilised for this purpose, even if 
the ground is unbroken. Break up the 
hard soil and dig it to the depth of a 
spit and a half, add some garden soil 
and a quantity of decayed horse manure, 
and form a bed a foot wide. 
Towards the end of May purchase a 
dozen plants of the sorts 1 have named 
—they are the kinds 1 have been success¬ 
ful with — but tell the nurseryman you 
want those that have been hardened off, 
or ask him to do this for you, unless you 
possess a frame yourself. Plant firmly 
a foot and a half apart, packing the soil 
well round the roots, and water liberally. 
Dryness at the roots during the early 
stages of growth causes the loss_ of the 
first blooms, a serious matter when we 
consider how short our summer some¬ 
times is. 
Another plan is to grow Tomatos be¬ 
tween rows of Potatos. The soil is quite 
suitable, as the two crops are very simi¬ 
lar, requiring the same conditions and 
being subject to the same diseases. In 
this case, plant early in June fully three 
feet apart in the furrows, and place a 
strong four-foot stake to each. The 
Potato haulm must be kept well together, 
so as not to smother the Tomato plants. 
Water copiously twice a week, and apply 
liquid manure once a week in the form 
of nitrate of potash alternately with super¬ 
phosphate of lime at the rate of one ounce 
to a gallon of water. As the plants come 
into bloom they should be shaded from 
the hot rays of the sun at mid-day by 
lightly fastening some green gauze over 
them ; or, if a touch of frost be experi¬ 
enced after planting out, they will need 
protection. Thin boards leaned to¬ 
gether will suffice, or a piece of wire net¬ 
ting covered with any old material. Wall 
plants must, of course, be trained to the 
wall by means of narrow strips of cloth. 
If the leaves curl, look for that little 
pest aphides, and treat him to a liberal 
dose of soapsuds or quassia solution. If 
the first truss of blooms do not set well, 
but fall just as fruit is forming, this is 
due to lack of moisture at the roots, and 
the remedy is obvious. 
In the case of growing between Potatos, 
when the latter need lifting draw the 
haulm together and cut it away first, 
then take care to disturb the Tomato 
roots as little as possible when taking up 
the vegetables. Level the soil afterwards 
and mulch with decayed manure along 
either side of the Tomatos, giving a tho¬ 
rough eood soaking of water once a week 
to wash down the virtue of the manure 
right to the roots. 
E. VYNER. 
