128 REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. 



TOP GRAFTING ITS ADVANTAGES AND POSSIBILITIES. 



This topic is suggested by several causes. First, nurseiy 

 stock purchased which did not prove true to name, and second, 

 the many old, neglected orchards throughout the state. Some 

 twelve years ago I purchased about five hundred trees of vari- 

 ous fruits, among which were one hundx*ed French prunes, 

 only about seventy-five being Petites, the others all kinds of 

 little measley plums. Among the cherries I ordered twelve- 

 Kentish, only one proved true to name, the other eleven are 

 all sorts of worthless sour cherries, and the trees stand on my 

 grounds today living monuments of man's inhumanity to man, 

 though a stronger term would be more applicable . The same 

 is the case with the apple and pear trees ordered. A few days 

 ago a fruitgrower came to my office for advice along this line. 

 He had bought one hundred apple trees and only fifteen proved 

 true to name. While I feel, and no doubt hundreds of others 

 feel that there should be a severe penalty attached to the sell- 

 ing of nursery stock which proves untrue to name, I do not 

 wish to discuss this outrage at this time. 



The question naturally arises, what to do with these trees? 

 The only solution is to topgraft them as soon as possible with 

 the desired varieties ; and right here I wish to call attention 

 to the selection of the proper scions. These should be cut 

 only from trees known to bear their fruits to perfection, and 

 by all means, never from nursery stock. Many of the apple 

 trees planted years ago, of varieties now obsolete and no longer 

 salable, are allowed to run riot and waste. All such trees can 

 and should be worked over to such varieties which have a 

 commercial value, and instead of being a nuisance to their 

 owners and neighbors, will become in a very few years ob- 

 jects of pleasure and profit. 



Professor Sears discusses this part of the toj^ic very much 

 to the point, in an article recently published, and on account 

 of its valuable suggestions, permit me to give it in full : 



"The use of top-grafting in the propagation of the apple 

 is very general in Nova Scotia, where conditions seem to be 

 especially favorable for its success, and my object in the 

 discussion of this is to call attention to some of the advantages 

 to be secured by this method of propagation, but which 

 might, perhaps, be overlooked by the orchardist. Top-graft- 

 ing, as usually practiced, has this advantage over the other 

 methods of propagation, that we know the character of the 

 stock on which we are grafting, and can, tlierefore, tell 



