I.P. ROBERTS, Director.
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HERBACEOUS GRAFTING.
My attention has been called a number of times to the unsatisfactory
records and directions concerning the grafting of herbaceous plants.
There appears to have been very little attention given to the subject,
and the scant discussions of it are mostly copied from one author to
another. A few years ago I made some attempts at herbaceous grafting,
but it was not until last winter that experiments were seriously
undertaken. The work was put in the hands of J.R. Lochary as a subject
for a graduating thesis.
The experiments were undertaken primarily for the purpose of learning
the best methods of grafting herbs, but a secondary and more important
object was the study of the reciprocal influences of stock and cion,
particularly in relation to variegation and coloration. This second
feature of the work is still under way, in one form or another, and we
hope for definite results in a few years. As a matter of immediate
advantage, however, herbaceous grafting has its uses, particularly in
securing different kinds of foliage and flowers upon the same plant.
There is no difficulty in growing a half dozen kinds or colors, on
geraniums, chrysanthemums, or other plants from one stock of the
respective species.
Six hundred grafts were made in our trials last winter. It was found
that the wood must be somewhat hardened to secure best results.
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