116 State Horticultural Society. 



What is generally termed a whole-root graft among nursery- 

 men is the first cut or collar graft, using about five inches of the 

 root and a four-inch scion, making the entire length of the graft 

 eight to nine inches long. But the average tree planter is befud- 

 dled on this subject, and is laboring under the mistaken idea that 

 some nurserymen use the entire stock. This method, as we have 

 stated, is not practical, and is not being used by any of our nursery- 

 men. If only a portion of the root is used as stock, the operation 

 is properly piece-root grafting. It is this particular operation which 

 is ordinarily understood when people speak of root-grafting. It 

 is apparent that the various pieces made of the root may not be 

 comparable. The top piece includes the crown, at which point 

 the scion is inserted. The lowest piece comprises the tip or small- 

 est, and, therefore, weakest portion of the root. It is evident that 

 there are two distinct problems concerned in the consideration of 

 the comparative merits of budded and root-grafted trees. One 

 has to do with the comparison of budding with grafting and the 

 other with the different methods of trimming or cutting the stocks. 

 It is well known that, in general, budding and grafting are equally 

 efficacious methods of propagation, other things being equal. In 

 other words, the mere fact that one tree comes from a bud and 

 another from a scion should make no necessary difference in the 

 value of the tree. All the characteristic differences between budded 

 and root-grafted trees are due to the methods of trimming the 

 stocks, and not to the actual methods of propagation. The "whole- 

 root" question, therefore, is one of comparative length and strength 

 of roots or stocks. A whole-rooted tree should be stronger and have 

 a more symmetrical root system at a given age than a piece-rooted 

 tree. Yet there have been frauds committed in the name of whole- 

 root trees. As a matter of fact, there can be no perfectly whole- 

 rooted trees unless the bud or scion is set upon a seedling stock 

 which stands in its original position, for part of the main axis is 

 broken off in the process of digging. If the pieces of roots are 

 very short in the making of root grafts, the graft has too little 

 power to enable it to make a strong growth the first year. 



It is a common practice with nurserymen, especially in the 

 north, where the growing season is short, to cut off the entire top of 

 root-grafted trees at the end of the first season, in order to get a 

 strong and straight body the following year. This practice is per- 

 fectly justifiable, only that the grower counts the age of his tree 

 from the date of the cut-back, and not from the date of the graft- 



