APPLE SEEDLINGS. 27 I 



can compare with it in health fulness, no other can take its place in 

 its domestic use. It needs no cultivation of taste to make it palat- 

 able — a child before it is able to assimilate solid food seems to 

 naturally enjoy the sprightly acid of the apple. 



Then why not raise seedling apples till a variety is obtained 

 that is adapted to every variety of soil and climate. It has been 

 proven by experience that seedlings adapt themselves to soil and 

 climate where they are planted far more readily than do varieties 

 transplanted from some other locality. Every variety seems to 

 have a choice location where it thrives the best and produces the 

 best fruit, although some kinds have a greater range of usefulness 

 than others. The Baldwin would choose the rocky hills of New 

 Hampshire; the Spitzenburg and Seek-no-Further take Western 

 New York ; the Greening and Pound Sweet, Vermont ; Ben Davis, 

 Missouri, and thus there is a variety for every locality. 



To grow seedlings successfully many considerations should be 

 taken into account in selecting the seed, and it is important by what 

 variety it probably had been fertilized. If you wish to raise winter 

 apples you certainly would not select seed from summer apples 

 that had been fertilized by summer apples. Just as soon expect to 

 raise bananas from bufifalo berries, or sweet potatoes from Indian 

 turnips. No, you would be more considerate ; you would select 

 seed from a winter variety, one that had been fertilized by a winter 

 variety. If you want red apples, you would select from red varie- 

 ties ; if you wish large ones, you would select from large kinds — 

 although you can hardly expect an exact reproduction of the sort 

 you plant the seed of, as the variations will be numerous. 



Now you have selected your seed, the next consideration is the 

 place for planting; this in my opinion is the place where you want 

 your orchard to stand. I consider this growing the trees where you 

 want the orchard to be is one of the greatest steps toward success 

 of all the important things to do in the whole category. Then 

 the roots take their natural course, the bark on the various sides 

 of the tree adapts itself to the requirements of its existence. The 

 branches you can control by a judicious use of the knife. 



The depth to plant the seed is about one inch, but first remem- 

 ber your hens are very fond of apple seed and appear to imagine 

 they must have them if possible. So protect the seed from the hens. 



Before planting the seed dig a concave hole, eight inches deep 

 and two feet in diameter, where you want your trees to stand, and 

 into each one of these holes plant from six to eight seeds, one inch 

 deep. Cover the soil with a black cloth till the seed are sprouted ; 

 then remove the cloth and cover with screen wire high enough to 



