10 TEANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



by the stem being infused into the top, impels an earlier ripening up 

 of its growth, thereby prepairing it for a better resistance to severe 

 cold: hence, the head of the top-grafted tree never suffers injury ta 

 such an extent as its root-grafted brother which has the tender wood 

 from the ground up; so while the root-grafted tree has the bark 

 bursted and the wood cells of its stem ruptured, and all circulation 

 of sap is destroyed, the top-grafted tree possessing a sound body 

 through which a full and impeded flow of sap is thrown into every 

 part of the top, quickly healing any injuring that may have hajt- 

 pened. This, my friends, is the cause of the difference; " simply this, 

 and nothing more." 



I mentioned, near the beginning of this paper, the fact that 

 '^doctors" differ. In illustration of this point I would invite your 

 attention to an editorial article on "Root- Grafting," that appeared 

 in the Prairie Farmer of Oct. 16, last, commencing as follows: " The 

 practice of making young apple trees by cutting roots into small 

 pieces and inserting a scion upon each piece, has fallen into disre- 

 pute among many of the best nurserymen," etc., and then Mr. Al- 

 baugh, of Ohio, is quoted as speaking, at a recent meeting of the 

 Ohio State Horticultural Society, of his investigations of this subject, 

 both in Ohio and New York, saying that he spent two days with Mr. 

 Moody, who had discarded piece root-grafting; that he did some 

 budding and a great deal of crow-grafting; the difference being in 

 the one case, the use of a piece of a root, and in the other the whole 

 root; that Mr. Moody could tell any orchard, whether the trees were 

 on whole roots or pieces of roots, from the shape of the trees, and 

 that he was firmly of the opinion that to produce apple trees from 

 pieces of roots was not the best way, either for the nurseryman or 

 for the orchardist, and that he w-ould give a great deal more for ap- 

 ple trees grown on whole roots than on pieces of roots. (Beg par- 

 don, Mr. Moody, but does not that remark of yours furnish fine bait 

 for the use of tree peddler?) Now, with all due regard for the opin- 

 ions of my friends from Ohio and New York, I would say that I am 

 as firmly of the opinion that the first and second four-inch cuts of a 

 No. 1 one year seedling-root will, as a rule, make better trees — al- 

 though not quite so fast — as Mr. Moody's or any other gentleman's 

 whole roots dare to, because these short sections will produce better 

 brace-roots near the crown, where they are most needed. Moreover, 

 the trees are not pushed into quite so strong a growth the first season, 

 as on whole roots, and, therefore, they ripen up their growth earlier; 

 hence are the less liable to be injured the following winter. This 

 same comparison holds good in consideration of trees grown by bud- 

 ding. I fully admit that either by budding or crown-grafting trees 

 may be made saleable quicker than by piece-root-grafting, and that 

 straighter (/. e. better looking) stems may be produced by these 

 methods; but, while the propagation of such trees may be more re- 

 numerative to the Ohio and New York grower, how is it in regard t<v 



