216 TRANSACTIONS OF THE HORTICULTURAL 



on such hardy stock as were then available. In every instance the 

 top-worked trees had been far superior in all respects to root-grafted 

 trees of the same varieties: one William's Favorite, top-worked bear- 

 ing as much fruit as five ruot-grafted trees of the same kind and 

 age. In 1856 to '57, one hundred root-grafted Rambo were winter- 

 killed, while two top- worked trees of the same kind and planted the 

 same time escaped and were in 1879 still sound and vigorous, bearing 

 plentifully. If you will take the trouble to visit J. C. Plumb at 

 Milton, Wis., he will show you a top-worked tree of Ben Davis, on 

 a cherry crab stock, this tree is in excellent condition, bearing tine 

 annual crops as if no severe winter had ever existed. Not a single 

 root-grafted Ben Davis orchard tree is alive in all Wisconsin outside 

 of the Lake belt, and even as far south as Champaign, III., root- 

 grafted trees of this variety have nearly all been killed. There are 

 also quite a number of top-worked Ben Davis orchard trees in 

 Champaign, Ogle and Stephenson counties, all of which have escaped 

 our recent test winters and are in prime condition and very productive. 



N. K. Fluke, of Davenport, Iowa, has for twenty years, experi- 

 mented with top-working upon Virginia Crab stock, and has been 

 very successful, even with such notoriously tender sorts as Stark and 

 Chenango Strawberry. But the experience of our own A. R. Whit- 

 ney, is perhaps the most valuable for the interests of apple culture 

 in Northern Illinois. His top-worked Willow Twig trees, over forty 

 years' old have been exceedingly productive. Their immense crops 

 of large, showy fruit have for many years given evidence of the pro- 

 fitableness of apple culture in this part of our State, if rightly man- 

 aged. Top-worked Red Astrachan trees have repeatedly yielded 830 

 worth of fruit in one season, while root-grafted Astrachans have not 

 yielded fruit enough to pay for the use of the ground occupied. Mr. 

 Whitney gives it as his experience that his top-worked trees have — 

 on an average produced ten times as much fruit as root-grafted trees 

 of the same varieties; and that he is making most excellent use of 

 his experience is proven by the extensive plantations of new orchards 

 he has made in recent years, largely of top-grafted trees. 



During the recent test winters I lost by wintm*-killing not less 

 than 40,000 root-grafted nursery trees; while standing in the same 

 blocks, under the same general treatment and of the same varietes, I 

 had several thousand top-grafted trees by way of experiment, and of 

 these I did not lose a tree. Gentlemen, these things have made me 

 very radical in ray views. I would no more think of planting sweet 

 cherries or peaches as a commercial venture in Northern Illinois, 

 than to plant root-grafted or budded trees of any variety of apples 

 less hardy than the Duchesse. 



That failures have occurred with top-grafted trees cannot be 

 denied, but these can invaribly be traced back either to a want of 

 hardiness in the stock used, or to a want of affinity between stock 



