EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS.' 253 



mill, by washing out the pomace, or from imported French crab seed, 

 which is preferable, unless it is known that the seed is from strong-grow- 

 ing, hardy varieties. 



If the trees are to be grown by budding, the seedlings are dug in the 

 fall and heeled-in in the cellar or in some well drained place out of doors 

 and there kept until spring. The soil for the apple nursery should be 

 strong, moist, and yet well drained. While the supply of plant food should 

 be sufficient to promote a strong, straight, healthy growth, it should not be 

 supplied with large amounts of undecomposed stable manure, as that 

 would induce a watery growth that would not ripen. 



As soon as the soil is dried off in the spring it should be deeply plowed 

 and thoroughly fitted for the seedlings which, after the fibrous roots have 

 been removed and the others cut back to a length of seven to nine inches, 

 will be ready for planting. 



They should be set, either with a spade or a dibble, in straight rows 

 from three feet eight inches to four feet apart, at intervals of from six to 

 ten inches. The greater distances will give the best trees, but with strong 

 soil and good care a good grade of tree can be obtained if somewhat closer 

 together. During the first season they will need to be frequently worked 

 so that the ground will bt- kept loose and the moisture conserved. With 

 good care they should be ready for budding by the last of July or the first 

 of August, The scions are obtained from the growth of the present year 

 and should have plump, firm, well-developed buds. The process of bud- 

 ding and the care of the young trees in the nursery is the same as given 

 for the peach in Bulletin 103 and reprinted in the Report of the State 

 Horticultural Society for 1893. 



Propagation by Root- grafting. — The process of root-grafting differs 

 from budding principally in that, instead of a bud attached to a small 

 piece of bark, several buds, attached to five or six inches of scion, are so 

 fastened to the stock that a union takes place and one part develops the 

 root while the other produces the stems and leaves of the future tree. 



Root-grafting is usually done by the nurseryman during the winter when 

 the other work is less rushing. The usual method is by what is known as 

 whip grafting, although other methods may be used. 



Whole or Piece Boots. — The more common practice today is to cut up 

 the roots of the seedlings into from two to four pieces from two to four 

 inches long, and use these as roots for the scions. It is claimed by 

 some that the proper way is to graft at the collar and thus get but 

 one root from each seedling. It is urged in favor of the whole- root 

 graft that not only are better nursery trees produced, but that in the 

 orchard the trees will get a better start and that the trees that have 

 been collar-grafted will have a tendency to throw strong roots of the 

 nature of tap roots deep down into the soil, while the short piece 

 roots, and especially the second and third cuts, will form but few roots 

 and these will be mostly of a fibrous nature and develop in the sur- 

 face soil. By rooting deeply the trees will be much less likely to be 

 injured by a severe winter and will suffer less from drought. While 

 much depends upon the soil in which the trees are grown and the 

 nature of the variety, many of the claims made for the whole root cer- 

 tainly hold good. As compared with those grown from the first or 

 upper cut there will be but little difference in the growth of the 

 nursery trees, and this will depend upon the length of the piece root. 

 As a rule, however, the nursery tree grown from the whole root will 



