82 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
LELOISG’S DISCOVERY. 
California Horticulturists at Variance Regarding the Originality 
of the Foster-Mother System of Root Grafting—Salable Nur¬ 
sery Trees Eight Months After Grafting —Salable Conifers 
In a Single Season — Leonard Coates’ Opinion. 
The interest excited by the announcement of the Stringfel- 
low theory of root cutting is thrown in the shade by the an¬ 
nouncement just made of the “discovery by B. M. Lelong, 
secretary of the California- State Board of Horticulture, by 
which it is claimed salable nursery trees may be produced in 
a single season.” 
For several weeks previous to July i the daily press of Cali¬ 
fornia industriously circulated a statement that Secretary Le¬ 
long had announced a great discovery in foster-mother root 
grafting. It was explained that limbs two feet long were taken 
from Washington navel orange trees and united with foster- 
mother roots and placed in sandy soil, and in eight months 
they had attained a growth equal to two or three years by 
the ordinary methods, and that the same results were obtained 
with the olive, apple, peach and pear, together with other vari¬ 
eties of trees. 
The California Fruit Grower having an idea that Pliny, Vir- 
gil and other gentlemen of the old school were familiar with 
Secretary Lelong's theory, wrote first to Mr. Lelong and then 
to the veteran nurseryman Leonard Coates. Mr. Lelong re¬ 
plied : 
While the experiment has been a success, it is yet too early to say 
whether it will be of practical utility. We have yet to determine 
whether, after growing the plants in this way they, will become fruit¬ 
ful. However, it is a very important discovery, and one I have a 
great deal of faith in, especially in growing of plants from the cutting, 
such as conifers, etc. 
LEONARD COATES’ OPINION. 
Mr. Coates replied as follows: 
Wherein is there a “discovery V” Cuttings of any plant, under 
proper conditions, will make roots, and propagators for thousands of 
years have known that this process is facilitated by grafting thereon a 
piece of root. Planted deeply, where there is sufficient moisture, or 
kept watered, the cutting itself will emit roots, after the “foster- 
mother” has given the start. This is all ihere is to the wooly aphis 
resistant apple stocks. A cutting of Northern Spy, for instance, is 
grafted on to a small piece of apple root, and planted as above indicated 
The next year the plant is taken up, the root graft cut off, and we 
have a Northern Spy apple on its own roots, which experience has 
proved to be resistant to wooly aphis, and which itself is used as a 
stock for other varieties. 
There is nothing new in this. California Fruit Grower and other hor¬ 
ticultural journals of the state have explained it many times during 
the past fifteen or more years. For years I have been trying these and 
other resistant apple stocks, as well as seedlings which were imported 
from New Zealand. California nurserymen would have supplied such 
trees long ago, but no one wanted them. The planter wanted the 
cheapest tree, and he got it. 
Coming back to the first proposition, “ all plants will take root from 
cuttings,” the question may be asked, why is it not more generally 
done ? The answer is that experience has shown that to keep thestock 
vigorous the variety must be grafted on to the root of a seedling of its 
own kind. To grow continuously from cuttings would in time so 
deteriorate the stock that it would become worthless. Grafting on to 
a “ foster-mother root” (the term is irrelevant and superfluous) and 
planting in a w r arm, sandy soil, with plenty of water—the very best 
conditions—will start the sap very quickly, and a tree of any kind can 
be so produced in a short time. The permanent result, however, 
would be likely to be a dwarfed tree, precocious in bearing, but lack¬ 
ing vitality. 
Allied to this, and simply a modification of cuttings on a “ foster- 
mother root,” is the process of “ layering,” which is about as ancient 
as grafting, for Nature herself, without the aid of man, is constantly 
working at it in the forest and jungle. This, to be brief, is to bend 
down a branch of the plant at a proper season of the year, cover it 
with earth, make a slight cut at the joints, and from each roots will 
grow) Such in time are severed from the parent, and become separate 
plants. This is the whole theory, and the practice, described very 
briefly. 
Tell me when Adam first worked in the Garden of Eden, and I can 
better tell when plants were grown in this way. 
SECRETARY LELONG’S REPLY. 
To all of which Mr. Lelong makes reply : 
The system of layering, which is very old, as well as enarching, are 
understood and have been practiced by propagators from time im¬ 
memorial, and are fully illustrated by most early writers. The 
methods I have employed I believe to be original; at least, after con¬ 
sulting all the works at my command in the English, French, Spanish, 
Italian and German languages, I failed to find mention of any processes 
similar to those employed by me in the experiments of 1898 and 1899. 
I regret exceedingly that any mention was made of them so early in 
the season, as I expected to illustrate them fully the coming winter, 
and this would have given a better idea than the meager descriptions 
that have been published. 
The comments as to the “ foster-mother ” root used in the apple grafts 
to raise resistant stocks, bear no relation to these. 
That “trees grown from cuttings do not become prolific bearers 
(or w T ords to that effect), and also that they become stunted,” etc., does 
not apply to all species of trees, and with few exceptions, is not borne 
out by facts. Take, for instance, our olive orchards. They -were 
grown from cuttings. The most prolific lemon orchards I have seen 
w ere grown from cuttings, and no doubt that tree would be grown in 
that way at the present time were it not that it is subject to the attacks 
of the gum disease; and likewise the lime and the citron. The fig, 
the quince, the grape and various species of plums are likewise propa¬ 
gated. It was only last week that A. T. Hatch told me that the most 
prolific plum orchard he had reared were trees grown from cuttings. 
Propagators well knowhow tedious it is to grow T conifers in particu¬ 
lar, which has to be done by either planting the seed or by cuttings, 
requiring in either case from three to five years to become salable 
plants. By the process here spoken of, plants suitable for outdoor 
planting may be grown in a single season. 
I have applied these processes to about 4,000 trees, which are now in 
nursery and which will be suitable for orchard planting the coming 
spring; two or. three seasons at least being required by any other 
method. Of course outside of the trees already spoken of, we do not 
know whether trees so propagated from branches are going to be pro¬ 
lific bearers or not, and it will take several years of demonstration. 
In 1888 I gave to the public the result of my experiments in budding 
the olive with large and small twigs, which, to my astonishment, 
received unfavorable criticism every where, because of its being new, 
no similar accounts being found on record, yet to day that system is 
universally used as the only safe method of budding the olive. At one 
of our fall conventions 1 exhibited olive plants budded with twigs of 
twelve and fourteen inches in length, that had been budded the spring 
before, which with the growth of the season were twenty to twenty- 
four inches high. 
To the casual observer these results may be looked upon with incre¬ 
dulity, but to an experimenter like myself, who has been constantly 
conducting experiments for a quarter of a century or more, they do not 
appear so difficult, and the only w'onder is that it has not been done 
before. My experiments are on a broad scale. I have now about 
200,000 orange trees in the seed bed, which next spring I shall put 
through the process, and which in a year or two thereafter I expect 
will be ready for orchard planting, otherwise at least five years being 
required. 
I have noted carefully all that has been said by the press concerning 
these methods of hastening the growth of plants, and, as before stated, 
regret that they should have been mentioned at all, for it has not given 
me the opportunity to write concerning their worth, the knowledge 
experimenters must have of the plant, the season, etc., and the many 
problems that they must confront to be successful. I have made no 
recommendations and have cautioned all who have asked me. that it 
will take years of trial and experimenting to prove the practical utility 
of the processes and the fruitfulness of the trees so grown, which 
should be heeded. 
