64 STATE BOAUD OF AGRICULTURE. 



MY PROCESS IS THIS: 



I purchase two-^ear-old trees, let tliein grow one season, and the foUow- 

 ing year begin budding,' setting the buds in the tops in as many branches 

 as I desire to form the top of the tree. If, by any means, the buds fail to 

 grow, the following season grafts are inserted, so that between the buds 

 and the grafts the tree is quickly and surely converted from one variety 

 into the other. At this point is where the principle of heredity is intro- 

 duced. Necessarily, in the propagation of millions of trees which are 

 grown at present in our nurseries, buds have to be taken to a large extent 

 from the stock that is already growing in the nurseries, and this principle 

 is not 'altogether the wisest for the purchaser of these trees, but it has 

 been difficult to get trees grown in any other way up to this time. Pur- 

 chasing the trees as I have indicated, I then choose from the mature 

 trees upon my own place^ or upon others, buds and grafts from the most 

 typical trees, in every resjiect, that can be found. For instance, in select- 

 ing the Tompkins County King, buds were taken only from trees that 

 were free from all evidences of blight and disease in any form. In addi- 

 tion to that, the perfection of the fruit was considered, and the general 

 character and form of the growth of the tree. There is individualism 

 not only in trees, but there is individualism also to be discovered in the 

 different buds and different branches of the same tree, and this prin- 

 iiple has not as yet been carefully studied and worked u])on in the prop- 

 agiation of our fruits, and I believe that if we study this subject care- 

 fully we can shorten, by proper selection of buds and grafts, the season 

 before bearing at least one-half in length of time. I have been able to 

 show fine specimens of Kings upon ray top-worked trees the third year 

 from the time the buds were set. In the Sutton Beauty, which seems to 

 have a tendency toward early bearing, I have obtained specimens of fruit 

 two years from the setting of the buds. I have been following for a time 

 this principle also in the propagation of currants. And we have through 

 this process been enabled to take from a single bush of currants sixteen 

 quarts. The possibilities of development in this direction are very great, 

 and, in this age of sharp and close competition, I believe is going to be the 

 solution of the most successful fruit culture. 



Another point of importance to us in the setting of orchards is the 

 proper 



HANDLING OF THE TREE AT THE TIME OF SETTING. 



There has been much discussion upon the question of root pruning, but 

 unfortunately, with too many growers the subject is not even thought of, 

 and trees are planted for orchard purposes in the same condition that 

 they come from the nurseries, with the result of long-delayed growth in 

 maturity of such orchards, and, with the general neglect which follows, 

 they contribute to the over-stocking of inferior, common fruit from which 

 we all have to suffer to a greater or less extent. The tree as it comes 

 from the nursery is in no condition whatever to set. The processes of 

 digging are necessarily destructive to the roots — trees have to be dug 

 rapidly, they are pulled out rapidly, they are thrown in great quantities 

 upon the ground, and before they can be gathered up and taken to the 

 packing houses the fine roots are ver^^ greatly destroyed, and are of no 

 value to us. We have to depend on another principle from that of the 



