47Trees which raise themselves of their own accord into the borders of light rise unfruitful, indeed, but luxuriant and strong; 49for nature lies beneath in the soil. 49Yet these too, if one grafts them, or transplants them and entrusts them to well-worked trenches, will put off their wild spirit, and with frequent tending will follow readily into whatever arts you wish. 53So too the barren tree that springs from the lowest roots would do this, if it were set out across open fields; 55as it is, the tall leaves and branches of its mother overshadow it, rob it of fruit as it grows, and scorch it as it bears. 57Again, the tree that has raised itself from scattered seeds comes slowly, to make shade for late descendants, and its fruits degenerate, forgetting their former juices, and the vine bears shabby clusters, plunder for the birds.
61Clearly on all of them labour must be spent, and all must be forced into the furrow and tamed at great cost. 63But olives answer better from truncheons, vines from layers, the myrtles of Paphos from the solid wood; 65from suckers grow both the hard hazels and the huge ash, and the shady tree of Hercules' crown, and the acorns of the Chaonian father; so too grows the lofty palm, and the fir that is to see the perils of the sea. 69But the rough arbutus is grafted with a shoot of walnut, and barren planes have borne sturdy apples; 71the beech has borne the chestnut, the manna-ash has whitened with the pear's white blossom, and swine have crunched acorns beneath elms.