L. H. BAILEY'S BOOKS. Annals of Horticulture in North America for the year 1889. A Witness of Passing Events and a Record of Progress. 249 pages, 52 illustrations. Annals for 1890. 312 pages. 82 illustrations. Annals for 1891. 416 pages. 77 illustrations. Annals for 1892. Illustrated. ***A new volume is issued every year, each complete in itself. Cloth, |i. The Horticulturist's RuIe°Book. A Compen- dium of Useful Information for Fruit-Grovfers, Truck- Gardeners, Florists and Others. Second edition, re- vised to the opening of 1892. 221 pages. Cloth, $1; paper, 50 cents. The Nursery=Book. A Complete Guide to the Multiplication and Pollination of Plants. 304 pages. 106 illustrations. Cloth, $1 ; paper, 50 cents. Cross-Breeding and Hybridizing. With a Brief Bibliography of the Subject. 44 pages. Paper, 40 cents. (Rural Library Series.) American Orape Training. An Account of the Leading Forms now in Use of Training the American Grapes. 95 pages. Profusely illustrated, from photographs. Cloth, 75 cents. Field Notes on Apple Culture. 90 pages. 19 illustrations. Cloth, 75 cents. Talks Afield: About Plants and the Science of Plants. 173 pages. 100 illustrations. Cloth, SI. THE RURAL PUBLISHING CO., P.O. Box 3318. New York. Albefo" R. Mann Library Cornell Univep^sity Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924097691020 THE NURSERY-BOOK A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE Multiplication and Pollination of Plants By L H. BAILEY New York : The Rural Publishing Company 1891 SreC.COLL. SB 119 "By the Same ^Author. Horticulturist's Rule-Book. A Compendium of Useful Information for Fruit Growers, Truck Gardeners, Florists and others. New edition, com- pleted to the close of 1890. Pp. 250. Library edition, cloth, $1. Pocket edi- tion, paper, 50 cents. Annals of Horticulture FOR THE'YEARS 1889 AND l8gO. A Witness of Passing Events, and a Record of Progress. Being records of introductions during the year, of new methods and discoveries in horticul- ture, of yields and prices, horticultuial literature and work of the experiment stations, necrology, etc. Illustrated. 2 vols. Library edition, cloth, $1 per vol. Pocket edition, paper, 50 cents per vol. COPYRIGHTED 1BS1, ELECTROTVPED AND PRINTED BY L. H. BAILEY. BY J. HORACE M'FARLAND, HARRlSBURG, PA. PREFACE. THIS little handbook aims at nothing more chan an account of the methods commonly employed in the propagation and crossing of plants, and its province does not extend, therefore, to the discussion of any of the ultimate results or influences of these methods. All such questions as those relating to the formation of buds, the reciprocal influences of cion and stock, com- parative advantages of whole and piece roots, and the re- sults of pollination, do not belong here. In its preparation I have consulted freely all the best literature of the subject, and I have been aided by many persons. The entire volume has been read by skilled propagators, so that even all such directions as are com- monly recommended in other countries have also been sanctioned, if admitted, as best for this. In the propa- gation of trees and shrubs and other hardy ornamentals, I have had the advice of the head propagator of one of the largest nurseries in this country. The whole volume has also passed through the hands of B. M. Watson, Jr., of the Bussey Institution of Harvard University, a teacher of unusual skill and experience in this direction, and who has added greatly to the value of the book. The articles upon orchids and upon most of the different genera of orchids in the Nursery List, have been con- 4 THE NURSERY-BOOK. tributed by W. J. Bean, of the Royal Gardens, - Kew, who is well known as an orchid specialist. I have drawn freely upon the files of magazines, both domestic and foreign, and I have made particular use of Nicholson's Il- lustrated Dictionary of Gardening, Vilmorin's Les Fleurs de Pleine Terre, Le Bon Jardinier, and Riimpler's Illus- triertes Gartenbau-Lexikon. It is believed that the Nursery List contains all the plants which are ordinarily grown by horticulturists in this country either for food or ornament. But in order to give some clew to the propagation of any which are omitted, an ordinal index has been added, by which one can search out plants of a given natural order or family. It cannot be hoped that the book is complete, or that the directions are in every case best for all regions, and any corrections or additions which will be useful in the preparation of a second edition are solicited. L. H. BAILEY. Ithaca, N. Y., Jan. i,tS<)X. CONTENTS, CHAPTER I. Seedage 9-24 Regulation of Moisture .... ... 9 Requirements of Temperature . ... .14 Preparatory Treatment of Seeds . .15 Sowing . ... ig Miscellaneous Matters . .21 Spores ..... ... .24. CHAPTER II. Separation .25-31 CHAPTER III. Layerage 32-38" CHAPTER IV. Cuttage 30-62 Devices for Regulating Heat and Moisture . .39 Soils and General Methods ... 46 Particular Methods—Kinds of Cuttings . .... 51 1, Tuber Cuttings . 52 z. Root Cuttings . .... 53 3. Stem Cuitings . .54 4. Leaf Cuttings . 60 CHAPTER V. GraftAGE 63-96 General Considerations ... .63 Particular Methods . .67 Budding . .67 Grafting 7* Grafting Waxes .92 6 THE NURi,ERY-BOOK. CHAPTER VI. The Nursery List 97-285 CHAPTER VII. Pollination 286-298 General Requirements . .... .... 287 Methods 291 Crossing of Flowerless Plants 297 -* Nursery.—An establishment for the rearing of plants. In America the word is commonly used in connection with the propagation of woody plants only, as fruit trees and ornamental trees and shrubs. This is erroneous. The word properly includes the propagation of all plants by whatever means, andi in this sense it is used in this book. THE NURSERY-BOOK. 2 CHAPTER I. SEEDAGE. Seedagfe. —The process or operation of propagating by seeds or spores^ or the state or condition of being propagated by seeds or spores. THERE are three external requisites to the germination of seeds—moisture, free oxygen, and a d^nite tempera- ture. These requisites are demanded in different degrees and" proportions by seeds of different species, or even by seeds of the same species when differing widely in age or degree of maturity. The supply of oxygen usually regulates itself. It is only necessary that the seeds shall not be planted too deep, that the soil is porous and not overloaded with water. Moisture and temperature, however, must be carefully regulated. Regulation of Moisture.—Moisture- is the most important factor in seedage. It is usually applied to the seeds by means of soil or some similar medium, as moss or cocoanut fiber. Fresh and vig- orous seeds endure heavy waterings, but old and poor seeds must be treated sparingly. If there is reason to sus- pect that the seeds are weak, water should not be applied to them directly, A favorite method of handling them is to sow them in a pot of loose and sandy loam which is set inside a larger pot, Fig. I. Double Seed- Pot. the intermediate space being filled with moss, to which, alone, the water is ap- plied. This device is illustrated in Fig. i. The water soaks through the walls of the inner pot and is supplied gradually and N. B. — 10 THE NURSERY-BOOK. constantly to the soil. Even in this case it is necessary to pre- vent soaking the moss too thoroughly, especially with very weak seeds. When many pots are required, they may be simply plunged in moss with the same effect. The soil should be simply very slightly moist, never wet. Moisture is sometimes supplied by setting the seed-pot in a shallow saucer of water, or it may be sufiRcient to simply place it in the humid atmosphere of a propagating-box. Large seeds may be laid upon the surface of the soil in a half-filled pot, covered with thin muslin, and then covered with loose and damp loam. Every day the pot is inverted, the covering taken off and fresh soil is added. A modification of this plan for small seqds can be made by placing the seeds between two layers of thin muslin and inserting them in damp loam, which is frequently renewed to avoid the ex- tremes which would result from watering or from allowing the soil to become dry. In these last operations, no water is applied to the seeds and they constitute one of the most satisfactory methods of dealing with seeds of low vitality. They are essen- tially the methods long ago used by Knight, who laid such seeds between two sods cut from an old and dry pasture. Even sound and strong seeds should be watered with care. Drenchings usually weaken or destroy them. The earth should be kept simply damp. To insure comparative dryness in in-door culture, some loose material, as pieces of broken pots or clinkers, should be placed in the bottom of the pot or box to afford drainage. It should be borne in mind, however, that the seed bed should be approximately equally moist throughout its depth. The waterings should therefore be copious enough to moisten the soil throughout. A wet or moist surface over a dry substratum should always be avoided. Error is common here. It is usually best to apply water with a watering-pot, as watering with a hose is apt to wash out the seeds and to pack the soil, and the quantity of water is not so easily regulated. At first thought, it would appear that the apparently good results following soaking of seeds in many cases, are a contra- diction of these statements that seeds may be over-watered.