THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
425 
THE PROPAGATION OF NURSERY STOCK 
By James Brodie, Biloxi, Miss. 
When the Secretary of the Mississipih Nurserymen’s 
Association assigned me the honor of introducing this sub¬ 
ject, he opened up a wide field for thought. A field we can¬ 
not expect to walk round or over in the time limit before us. 
What I have to say must be restricted and confined to a few 
lines of stock such as may be of greatest interest to the far¬ 
mer. In the daily toil of the fanner and horticulturist 
there is a link of connection between animal and vegetable 
life that appeals to 
them, and once this 
line of thought is 
tapped there is a 
grafting of the 
whole. It is hard 
to convert ourselves 
into a vegetable, 
but it can be done 
in a way if you 
place life in a shell; 
deaf; dumb, blind, 
and, as far as we 
are aware, uncon¬ 
scious of feeling, 
but full of life and 
the power of growth 
—a gift to be 
handed by us and 
modeled according 
to treatment. In 
producing nursery 
stock the nursery¬ 
man avails himself 
of two methods of 
propagation, name¬ 
ly the sexual or sim¬ 
ple method of pro¬ 
duction from seed, 
and the asexual, 
where increase is 
carried on by cut¬ 
ting, layer, off shoot 
or bulb; and again, 
when he avails himself, of a combination of both; that is, 
by budding, or grafting the seedling. 
We are all aware of the uncertain quantity and quality 
of fruit likely to be produced by fruit trees grown directly 
from seed, yet some of these productions are the foundation 
of superior fruit. On rare occasions a tree grown directly 
from seed produces a choice fruit, and it is from such rare 
developments the nurseryman is able, by budding or graft¬ 
ing, to perpetuate the sl^rain indefinitely. By visiting any 
of our great fruit tree nurseries, the novice would be im¬ 
pressed (if they were pointed out) with the multitude of 
seedlings of apple, peach, pear, plum, cherry, pecan, etc.. 
that would pass before the eye. Taking all the nurseries 
of the nation together the number of prospective fruit trees 
brought to life from seed is simply endless; an eager un- 
diciplined multitude anxious to follow out their life-work. 
All this uncertain element turned loose on the unsus])ect- 
ing public for one year would be a national calamity, for out 
of all these millions, after years of care and toil, we would 
not be likely to get more than a few trees worthy of a place 
in the present day 
fruit orchard. Be¬ 
fore I leave this 
system of fruit pro¬ 
duction from seed 
let me take you 
back to the days 
of Young America 
when the simple 
art of grafting and 
budding was known 
to few. From Eng¬ 
land, and Europe 
generally, immi¬ 
grants brought a 
few choice fruit 
trees, but it was 
from seed, probably 
imported or saved 
from first fruits in 
the new land that 
the bulk of their 
fruit trees came. 
The effect of 
change, the stim¬ 
ulating virgin soil, 
and the glorious 
ripening effect of 
our climate pro¬ 
duced wonderful 
results. Early se¬ 
lections from these 
productions, and 
again selections 
from later developments, and we have the present day per¬ 
fect and world-famed American red-cheeked apple, peach 
and plum. 
On this foundation of toil, long waiting, much disappoint¬ 
ment, and the few resulting select specimen fruits obtained, 
we have a distinctly national type of fruit; and thanks to 
the nurseryman, tree peddler, orchardist, rapid transit, 
our knowledge of cool storage and canning, our unparalled 
success and fabulous values in fruit products. 
Once more let us review our present day endless fields of 
seedlings. Before you pass millions on millions of plants 
that, left alone, would develop worthless lives encumbering 
NORWAY MAPLES RUNNING FROM 8-10 FEET TO 1-lK CALIPER SIZES. THERE ARE 3.5.(H)0 
IN THIS BLOCK AT MAPLE FARM OF UNION NURSERIES, OUDENBOSCH, HOLLAND 
