Miscellaneous. 397 



were planted on the west end of the rows and the piece-roots on the east 

 end of same rows, without any Hne of demarkation, and in growing and 

 digging I could never tell where the whole-roots ended or the piece- 

 roots began. I defy any other man to do it, either. Again, three years 

 ago this spring, on bottom land in Sumner county, Kansas, I planted 

 out a large plot of whole-root grafts — genuine whole-root, branched-root 

 grafts, about six inches long of root. Some were longer, but we cut 

 any long top roots down to six inches and planted them by making an 

 opening in the ground with a spade instead of the dibble. I thought I 

 would see a larger and thriftier tree, with a better root system than 

 ever before, but I must declare to you my disappointment that, while all 

 kinds started out equally well, yet the boasted whole-roots did not keep 

 up with the piece roots either at one or two years old. 



The truth of the matter is this : The largest, longest, straightest 

 and thriftiest roots are made into piece-root grafts, the second size, the 

 shorter and the branching roots are made into whole-root grafts, and the 

 culls of all the smallest of all, those too small to graft at all, are lined 

 out to bud on, for the wonderful whole-rooted — only nurseries — budded 

 trees, at much higher prices, and as the only trees that will bear and 

 never blow over. 



WHAT SHALL WE SAY ABOUT VARIETIES f 



Well, about varieties we differ, and we change our minds also as we 

 try some and they go back on us. In 1882, in Illinois, I was told the 

 Willowtwig was the apple, a bearer, a seller, a keeper, but the Willow- 

 twig is a back number now. In 1884, in Missouri, the Janet or Janeton 

 was all the rage. 



Well, in eastern Kansas in 1885 and in 1886 I was recommending 

 Willowtwig and Janeton and Missouri Pippin and Winesap as standard 

 varieties, with Ben Davis also in the lead (never as a side line), when 

 I soon found Willowtwig was eaten full of holes by bugs and bees, 

 worms and wasps, and you could get but a small per cent of sound apples ; 

 also that when bruised at all it rotted quickly. It had to go. The Jane- 

 ton on upland was small and scabby ; also it would, after fall rains, crack 

 and burst open. You could not bank on Janeton only on heavy bottom 

 or good timber land. Rawle's Janet was played out. The Missouri 

 Pippin, while the youngest tree to bear of any, the heaviest bearer also, 

 though of beautiful form and color, and a fair keeper, was only a com- 

 mon apple to eat and cook, but being an upright grower, with a heavy 

 weight of apples, the limbs would break, and it took lots of trimming 

 to fix it up again, and many trees would die. So, while we find that 



