Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-10-20
Graft Hybrids.

Our esteemed contemporary, the German
town Telegraph, which always talks under
standiugy, has the following on graft hy-
brids. We would advise our neighbor to
have care in the use Of the word hy-
brid. else it viii get out Of the wake
the Rural New Yorker considers itself to
have created for the county papers.
The text of q paper on graft hybrids,
read before the recent meeting Of the
American Association for the advancement
of science, at Buffalo, by our ncighbor Mr.
Thomas Meehan, has appeared in the pub
lie prints, by which it appears that there is
some truth in the popular impression that
hybrids may be had by grating as well as
by seeds. We do not, however, understand
Mr.. Meohan as endorsing fully the popular
impression, but only to some degree. For
instance, the popular idea is that by splitting
the buds of two varieties, and uniting two
different halves to make one perfect bud, the
two distinct principles OF each will run along
together in the one tree, but never thorough
ly interminglc as one variety. They are
two confederacies, but not one complete
union. Thus we have continual reports of
variety, which has one side Of the apple
sweet aud one side sour, just as the parents
were sweet and sour; or one-half smooth
and shining and the other half russIt; aud
there seems to be no end of persons willing
to testify that they know all this was brought
about by two divided halves as before des.
cribed. Now, Mr.. Meehau's paper gives no
comfort to these theories. lie split the buds
not in summer by the budding process,
but in the spring by the grating method -
Of the Rhode Island Greening apple and the
Red Astrachan apple, uniting the halved
buds Of each into one graft and the result
in two cases is two distinct kinds, each diff
ferent in some respects from their parents,
aud from each other in just about the same
degree as children in one family will differ
from one another aud from their
parents. The flowers in both these
cases have the large white ones Of the
Rhode-lsland GreeniDg; we might say for
illustration the blue eyes Of one parent but
the fruit in both cases approach the Red As.
trachan in coor-aud one very much in gen.
era character Here is the blonde and the
brunette thoroughly intermixed.
In our columns we have from time to
time given accounts Of the experiments
made in England with graft hybrid potatoes.
The eye of one kind is grated into tuber
from which all its own eyes has been cut,
and the result is an intermixturc, lot of
hybrid kinds.
The experience is interesting, not only as
showing how new varieties may be had indie
pendently Of seed, bat as explaining many
variations in fruits which have hitherto been
unaccountablc. For instance the fruit of a
Duchess pear grown on the ounce is known
to be far superior to the same kind grown on
the pear stock Why mag not the ounce
convey trihe of its essential character to
the graft, as well as supply it with the crude
food? And then it is certainly known that
there is a sort of back.action on the roots
from the graft. Though the stocks be from
seed of various kinds of apples, when grated
With different varieties the roots all have an
uniform character with each separate va
riety.
1t seems to open up new field for oxper.
iments and our improvers will no doubt take
note Of it.