SOCIETY OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS. 261 



and said : " I have full faith tliat this method of top-grafting on a 

 hardy stock will insure us a hardier class of trees than those grown 

 in the ordinary way. I believe it from the fact that wherever the 

 experiment has been tried it has worked well.* *" 



Mr. E. C. Wamsley, near Polo, 111., has top-grafted Rambo and 

 Maiden Blush trees on his grounds, over thirty years old, which have 

 been very jiroductive, and are still in vigorous condition. l>iddiiig fair 

 to last a good many years yet. Hoot-grafted trees of tiiese varieties 

 are tender, short-lived and uni)rotitable. ^ 



In 1872 I top-grafted Grimes' Golden and planted them the fol- 

 lowing s))ring in orchard; they commenced bearing in "78 and have 

 borne nicely every year since, except last season, when they made 

 however a good wood-growth, apparently uninjured. Root-grafted, 

 the Grimes Golden were severely damaged in 1872 and "73, and again 

 in "77 and "78: many of them being destroyed. I have not root-grafted 

 this kind since. 



I have the following varieties top-worked about four feet above 

 the ground, in my nursery, mostly upon Whiting No. 20 stems: Red 

 Astrachen. Early Harvest. Early Colton, Early Excelsior, Lesters 

 Beauty. Sweet June, Chenango Strawlierry, Cole"s Quince, Baily 

 Sweet, Garfield, Porter, Lanark, Sweet Russet, Ben Davis, Cayuga 

 Redstreak. Clark"s Orange. Grimes' Golden. Ishani Sweet. Jonathan. 

 Mann, Pewaukee. Wythe and Willow Twig. All of these passed 

 through last winter a])parently uninjured, not a twig nor a bud hurt: 

 they all made a fine growth the past summer, ripened up the young 

 growth nicely, hence going into winter quarters in good condition. 



Now let us compare my root-grafted trees with the above, stand- 

 ing in same block upon the same kind of soil, having received the 

 same cultivation and care: 



Uninjured — Duchess of Oldonl^urg and Tetofskey. 



SUghfhj Jiioi — Walbridge and Nelson"s Sweet. 



Considerahlij injured — Wealthy, Hass, Shiawassee Beauty and 

 Fameuse. 



Severe! If danuiffed — Early Harvest, Red Astrachan, Sweet .Tune, 

 Bailev Sweet. Coles Quince. Plumb's Cider, Porter, Baltimore, Mary- 

 land lledstreak, Pewaukee and Talman Sweet. 



Parfli/ killed — Sweet Pear. Price's Sweet and Lyman's Large 

 Yellow. 



Nearly all killed — Ben Davis and Mann. 



All killed — Hill's Red, Colburn. K'oshkonong and Willow Twig. 



Of a number of Russian and other North-of-Europe varieties 

 which come highly recommended for hardiness and otlier good qual- 

 ities, I have on trial. IjotJi root- and top-grafted, none of the latter 

 sustained any injury, while some of the root-grafted ones were 

 killed l)ack to the snow-line, others were more or less damaged, and 

 a very few of them came through all right. We may reasonably 

 conclude, therefore, that the greater number of those kinds intro- 



