APPLES FOR AROOSTOOK. 113 



X 



3Iountain Sweet. — This is a Maine apple, received by me from 

 Wisconsin. I can only say that the tree is hardy. I am informed 

 by Secretary Gilbert that it is a fine apple of dessert qualit}', and a 

 keeper. This will make it very valuable. 



I will conclude b}' giving a brief account of mj^ method of growing 

 nurser}' trees and planting an orchard. To begin with, I am par- 

 ticular about my stocks, growing them from seed of the hardiest 

 varieties of native apples, but never from crabs. The crab stock 

 has been thoroughlv tried and found not to produce good orchard 

 trees, though fair looking young trees can be grown upon them. 

 Crab stocks have been tried in this vicinity for twenty-five years 

 under the idea that they would impart their hardiness to varieties 

 grafted upon them. The experiment has proved a perfect failure. 

 The crab stock gives no hardiness to a tender variety, and shortens 

 the life of hard}' sorts grafted upon it. I use only-~3'earling stocks, 

 sorting out those which are of strong growth, and throwing the rest 

 awa>'. For several years I grafted with short cions upon long roots. 

 Now I have reversed the practice, and graft long cions on short 

 roots, setting so as to leave but one or two buds above ground. In 

 this wa3', with almost all varieties, I get good roots from the cion, 

 which take the lead of the ' ' nurse-root" upon which it is grafted and 

 give me a tree at three 3'ears old which is practically upon its own 

 roots, and is therefore as hardy in root as in top. I do not bud^ or 

 top-graft, as is the custom so generallj' in Maine, for the following 

 reasons : First, no matter how carefully' you may select your seed 

 from hardy fruit, a large proportion of the seedlings are not hard}', 

 and will winter-kill, more or less, if allowed to grow above ground. 

 Second, no matter how carefully top-grafting may be done, there is, 

 in our severe climate, more or less injury done to the stock in the 

 operation, and the union is never as perfect between stock and cion 

 as in milder climates. Thirdly, stock for budding must be a year 

 older, at least, than for grafting, and the union being above ground 

 the stock, when cut off above the bud, is at least two years in heal- 

 ing over, and there is almost sure to be an unsound spot in the tree 

 at that point. Fourthh', you cannot get a tree on its own roots b}' 

 that method. This getting roots from the cion is as practicable 

 with apples as with pears, and my ver}' best trees have been grown 

 in that way. I was strongly prejudiced against it at first, Ijut the 

 "logic of wants" has convinced me that for mv climate it is the 

 true way. 



8 



