126 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



terized the general management of orchards throughout the 

 western country ? Experience is a pretty correct teacher, if an 

 expensive one, and her mandates may not be set aside with im- 

 punity. Some twenty-eight years ago, we flattered ourselves with 

 having a goodly number of "iron-clads," but later winters have 

 reduced that number to the Duchess and a very few other 

 Russians, and the crabs. One entire splendid assortment of 

 American varieties have come to grief more or less. 



When I arrived in Northern Illinois, thirty-five years ago, low- 

 headed trees were claimed to be "just the thing." Those that 

 •"knew" anything about apple culture were fully satisfied that 

 trees must be headed near the ground. Well, the winters of 

 1855-'56-'57 "wiped out" any amount of them. Those low- 

 headed "pets" were killed fully as dead as their taller stemmed 

 brethren. But history will repeat itself, and we find that two 

 "leading horticulturists," in recent communications in a leading 

 western agricultural journal, advocate the planting of "maiden 

 trees;" that is, yearlings to be headed back so as to branch close 

 to the ground. I would like to have these gentlemen explain, if 

 they can, how such trees are expected to resist the effects of such 

 test winters as those mentioned, which destroyed nursery trees 

 throughout the northwest by millions ; or, if they should escape 

 long enough to bear fruit, what is to hinder them from splitting 

 and breaking down, the same way their "illustrious" predeces- 

 sors did years and years ago? Another "leading" frcit grower 

 has of late years advocated the setting out of the root graft in the 

 orchard at once, so as to prevent injury from transplanting. 

 Well, a sweet time he and his followers will have, to keep their 

 bearings when cultivating their trees. I fear they will have to 

 bring their compasses, quadrants and lanterns into requisition. 



Various other theories have been advanced as "specifics" for 

 successful apple cultivation ; such as grafting on short root sec- 

 tions and long scions, so as to compel the scion to strike roots of 

 its own ; whole roots are advocated in order to retain the whole 

 vitality of the stock, which is "fallaciously" claimed to be de- 

 stroyed by the use of sectional cuts. It seems these men do not 

 realize the fact that a piece of root is just as capable of repro- 

 ducing a properly constituted root-head to the tree, as a piece of 

 top-shoot or scion is of reproducing a complete top. Budding has 

 been claimed by some to produce hardier and better trees than 

 •root grafting ; but where is their proof ? The use of French crab 

 stock is another hobby ; when it should be known that that term 

 is a misnomer, and those are simply seedling stocks from seedling 

 parent trees and no crabs at all ; moreover these imported stocks 

 are far less hardy than our own. Others again appear to stake 

 their entire hope on the Russians, but even on this point we find 

 but small encouragement. The Northern Iowa Horticultural 

 Society, two years ago, after extensive trials for seventeen years, 



