﻿45 
  

  

  For 
  some 
  reason 
  or 
  other 
  we 
  have 
  not 
  all 
  the 
  facts. 
  We 
  can 
  

   propagate 
  splendidly 
  one 
  year, 
  and 
  the 
  next 
  year 
  we 
  have 
  a 
  fall- 
  

   down. 
  Mr. 
  Roper, 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  pioneer 
  nurseries, 
  said 
  he 
  had 
  2,000 
  

   fine 
  hve 
  walnut 
  buds 
  last 
  fall, 
  and 
  had 
  but 
  500 
  this 
  spring, 
  and 
  not 
  

   one 
  of 
  them 
  grew. 
  While 
  the 
  technique 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  simple, 
  there 
  

   seems 
  to 
  be 
  something 
  lacking 
  in 
  our 
  experience. 
  I 
  will 
  ask 
  Mr. 
  

   Littlepage 
  to 
  give 
  us 
  his 
  confessions 
  first. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Littlepage: 
  The 
  proposition 
  of 
  top 
  working 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   schemes 
  where 
  art 
  beats 
  nature. 
  In 
  the 
  fight 
  in 
  Congress 
  over 
  the 
  

   oleomargarine 
  bill 
  some 
  years 
  ago, 
  one 
  member 
  who 
  favored 
  it, 
  said 
  

   in 
  support 
  of 
  his 
  contention, 
  that 
  nature 
  always 
  beat 
  art; 
  and 
  one 
  

   of 
  his 
  opponents 
  immediately 
  referred 
  him 
  to 
  a 
  picture 
  gallery 
  near, 
  

   where 
  pictures 
  of 
  the 
  statesmen 
  were 
  exhibited, 
  as 
  a 
  proof 
  that 
  art 
  

   sometimes 
  beats 
  nature. 
  In 
  top 
  working, 
  art 
  improves 
  upon 
  nature. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  thing 
  to 
  be 
  considered 
  is 
  what 
  is 
  topworking, 
  and 
  then 
  

   the 
  logical 
  question, 
  why 
  topworking. 
  Possibly 
  this 
  should 
  come 
  

   first. 
  If 
  an 
  individual 
  is 
  dissatisfied 
  with 
  his 
  friends 
  and 
  neighbors, 
  

   he 
  must 
  put 
  up 
  with 
  them; 
  he 
  cannot 
  change 
  them. 
  But 
  if 
  he 
  is 
  

   dissatisfied 
  with 
  a 
  nut 
  tree, 
  it 
  is 
  his 
  own 
  fault 
  if 
  he 
  does 
  not 
  change 
  

   it. 
  It 
  can 
  be 
  top 
  worked. 
  He 
  does 
  not 
  care 
  to 
  top 
  work 
  maples 
  

   or 
  oaks. 
  We 
  only 
  top 
  work 
  to 
  get 
  something 
  better 
  than 
  we 
  have. 
  

   The 
  trees, 
  of 
  course, 
  that 
  interest 
  us 
  specially 
  in 
  top 
  working 
  are 
  

   the 
  nut 
  trees. 
  We 
  have 
  seedling 
  pecans, 
  seedhng 
  walnuts, 
  seedling 
  

   hickories, 
  and 
  seedling 
  chestnuts. 
  Down 
  at 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  Green 
  

   River 
  in 
  Kentuckj^ 
  are 
  nearly 
  two 
  hundred 
  acres 
  of 
  wild 
  pecan 
  trees. 
  

   So 
  far 
  as 
  we 
  know 
  there 
  are 
  only 
  two 
  trees 
  in 
  that 
  orchard 
  worthy 
  

   of 
  propagation. 
  Of 
  thousands 
  of 
  trees 
  there 
  we 
  have 
  propagated 
  

   only 
  two 
  varieties. 
  These 
  trees 
  are 
  now 
  too 
  large 
  to 
  top 
  work, 
  but 
  

   had 
  it 
  been 
  possible 
  150 
  years 
  ago 
  to 
  go 
  in 
  there 
  and 
  select 
  the 
  desir- 
  

   able 
  nuts, 
  and 
  topwork 
  all 
  the 
  other 
  trees 
  with 
  these, 
  there 
  could 
  

   have 
  been 
  a 
  great 
  orchard 
  there 
  now 
  of 
  the 
  highest 
  quality 
  nuts. 
  

  

  Topworking 
  consists 
  in 
  cutting 
  off 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  some 
  undesirable 
  

   seedhng 
  and 
  replacing 
  it 
  with 
  scions 
  or 
  buds 
  from 
  some 
  desirable 
  

   variety. 
  It 
  is 
  just 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  any 
  other 
  grafting 
  or 
  budding 
  proc- 
  

   ess. 
  Almost 
  any 
  size 
  tree 
  can 
  be 
  topworked 
  but, 
  of 
  course, 
  the 
  

   larger 
  the 
  tree 
  the 
  more 
  difficult 
  the 
  operation. 
  A 
  young 
  tree, 
  

   from 
  two 
  to 
  five 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter, 
  can 
  be 
  sawed 
  off 
  four 
  or 
  five 
  

   feet 
  above 
  the 
  ground 
  and 
  topworked 
  by 
  grafting 
  from 
  two 
  to 
  four 
  

   scions 
  on 
  it, 
  by 
  the 
  slip 
  bark 
  process. 
  If 
  the 
  tree 
  is 
  larger 
  than 
  

   five 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter, 
  it 
  is 
  better 
  to 
  go 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  first 
  branches, 
  

   saw 
  off 
  part 
  of 
  them 
  and 
  proceed 
  just 
  as 
  if 
  each 
  branch 
  were 
  itself 
  

   a 
  small 
  tree. 
  If 
  the 
  tree 
  is 
  a 
  large 
  tree, 
  with 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  branches 
  

  

  