All the twelve seedlings, with which the stock is grafted,
represent different crosses with this famous Medaille d'or and other parents were selected with a view to encouraging greater strength of wood. By putting all on one tree com- parison is made easy: after all, in botany, as Clough found in social relationship, " great is juxta-position." The dates of the putting forth of blossom and leaf compare themselves. Here is a tree of knowledge indeed It would be interesting to have a succession of photographs taken every two or three days. Science works slowly and patiently ; but permits on occasion certain accelerations. A graft may be encouraged to fruit earlier than it naturally would, by bending the long shoot into an arc and tying the end to its own or another branch. By such stretching fruit-buds as opposed to leaf- buds are encouraged.
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