STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 13 



a mob of individuals, and upon these, either by grafting or 

 budding, he propagates the desired variety. 



In certain sections of Maine, in Minnesota and Wisconsin, 

 the cHmatic conditions are so severe during the winter that 

 these seedHng French crab roots are often winter-killed, while 

 the trunk would winter perfectly satisfactory, so that it has 

 forced Maine fruit growers to realize that the root is a very 

 important part of the tree. We must recognize that the root 

 is certainly half of the tree, and that in many instances the 

 excellent returns secured from individual specimens may be 

 due, in no small measure, to the fact that they are on a root 

 system which is congenial — one which is able to work to feed 

 the tree in a proper manner and work harmoniously with it. 



As time goes on we are beginning to recognize that there are 

 individuals in apple trees which can work harmoniously, and 

 those which cannot. It has been our experience that the 

 Wealthy, when top-worked on Rhode Island Greening trunk, 

 does not make a satisfactory union. It does not grow as vigor- 

 ously as we might expect; while the Greening will grow quite 

 well on a Wealthy trunk. Probably all of you are familiar 

 with the fact that Bartlett and Seckel, while they will grow for 

 a short time on a Keiffer trunk, the union is not long-lived. It 

 is one of the cases when divorce is frequently the only solution, 

 and in the course of a few years the top either dies or blows oflF. 

 Twenty Ounce makes a much larger tree when topped on 

 Baldwin than when top-worked on Northern Spy. We feel 

 confident that the Tolman Sweet is a much better trunk than 

 the spy for this variety. And probably the same is true for 

 Tompkins King. Both of these varieties are top-worked in 

 many places, owing to the danger from collar rot. 



For the more northern sections of the apple-growing belt, it 

 is probably advisable that the trees planted shall be propagated 

 by means of root grafts, and that the grafts shall consist of a 

 very small portion of root and a long graft, and that the latter 

 shall be planted deeply so that it may send out roots of its own, 

 the small piece root merely being utilized to carry the individual 

 until it has established a root system, independently. One of 

 the difftculties with this system is that some varieties, such as 

 Oldenburg, seem to be quite tardy in sending out their roots. 

 But the Tolman Sweet can be propagated fairly well in this 



