452 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



apples that I had sent to Chicago that' were top-worked, and he im- 

 mediately wrote me a letter asking this question: whether I had 

 noticed any difference in the quality of fruit top-worked, and 

 whether I would rend him some specimens of fruit top-worked on 

 the Virginia crab, which I did. I sent him sixteen apples. I sent 

 him two Utter grown on their own roots, two grown on Virginia 

 crab, also two Wealthy and two McMahon on Virginia, and askfd 

 him to send me a verdict. He said the Wealthy grown on the 

 Virginia crab was no better than grown on its own roots, and he 

 could see no difference in the Utter, but the McMahon and fhe Wolf 

 River were much better in quality grown on the \^irginia crab than 

 grown on their own roots. The Virginia crab is a good apple to 

 eat, but it is no better than the McMahon, but where the quality of 

 an apple is inferior to the Virginia crab it will improve it to grow 

 it on the Virginia. When I first sent the Shook crab fo Prof. Goff 

 he kept it until spring and wrote to me and said it was very fine and 

 asked me why I had not propagated it. I told him it was on account 

 of its size, that nobody wanted an apple like that. He told me if I 

 top-worked it on some thrifty stock I could increase its size, and it 

 would prove a valuable apple. It is valuable anyway, he said, but 

 I could increase its size by top-working. I top-worked it, and this 

 year I had the first fruit. I called it the "Shook" crab because I 

 have to shake it off. That is the result (holding up different sized 

 apples). This is to show the effect of the stock on the fruit. This 

 (indicating) is from the original tree and this is grown on the Vir- 

 ginia crab. You can see the difference in size. This (indicating;) 

 is the Gould crab that Mr. Kenney recommends so highly, but I 

 have never tried it for top-working purposes. Unless the stock does 

 have an influence on the scion, I don't know of any reason why the 

 Wealthy is hardier on the Virginia crab and lasts longer and bears 

 longer than it does on its own roots, and the \'irginia crab is a 

 stronger grower and gives to the top more life and vigor than if on 

 its own roots. About afifinity between the graft and the stock, 

 I believe the variety that makes a union that is not perfect will 

 be the hardiest, because there is an obstruction in the flow of the 

 sap which will cause it to ripen its wood earlier. Where there 

 is a perfect affinity between the stock and the scion and the 

 union is perfect, and you can see whether it is perfect or not, I 

 do not believe it adds any material hardiness to the graft. 



Mr. Harrison : If you put that apple on a large growing tree, 

 like the Wealthy, Duchess or Hibernal, would it increase its size? 



Mr. Philips : No, I don't think it would, because I think the 



