EXPERIENCE IN TOP-WORKING THE APPLE. II5 



which today would not be countenanced. Mr. Gaylord, I think, 

 and some of his neighbors, wanted a short cut to the old varieties, 

 and the Duchess, having been so generally set, was largely used; 

 and it is today, in my opinion, except for one defect, about as good 

 a tree as there is for that purpose. That defect is its liability to 

 split down, the union of limb and trunk being poor. For my top- 

 working I selected the Hibernal and Virginia, but from now out 

 I am inclined to favor the Hibernal to the exclusion of any other 

 kind that I am acquainted with, though there are probably others 

 just as good. 



I prefer to set out three or four year old trees, and let them 

 grow one year in the orchard, then graft or bud them; and in doing 

 this I go well out on the limbs, putting in, according to the head 

 of the tree, four to seven or eight scions. Mr. Cotta went as far 

 as a nurseryman could well go, i. e., he grafted the single stock 

 or whip of a young tree and sent it out after one or two years' 

 growth. I purchased some. He at one time used the Virginia 

 for that purpose, but later discarded it for the Shield's crab, which 

 he considered superior, claiming that the liability of the Virginia 

 to bark blight made it at times unsatisfactory. 



Mr. Gaylord called my attention to the fact that it was desirable 

 to go well out on the limbs to graft, and for this I thank him much, 

 and am glad to be able to express those thanks before so large 

 an audience, for though I cannot quite endorse all of Mr. Gay- 

 lord's theories, or go to the extent he does in top-working, yet 

 I personally know of no one layman who, by original thought and 

 investigation, has done more to help the cause, nor who is more 

 persistent and unselfish. 



Mr. Gaylord's warning caused me to investigate to some extent 

 the weak spots of our apple trees which might be called second 

 hardy, and I began to realize that the failure in many instances 

 commenced in the forks. You watch a Wealthy that has fruited 

 heavily for a few years, and likely you will find decay of bark in 

 the fork; a year or two later the bark is gone, and the wood dry 

 and hard, and if hard winters follow the tree is probably gone. 

 Again, the year following may not be fruitful, the winters favor- 

 able, and the bark may re-form, but the injury is there. This is 

 the good and sufficient reason for going out on the limbs. Get 

 your trunk and all possible of the main crotches of the hardiest 

 possible kind. The reason I select the Hibernal is : 



First — I consider it one of the hardiest of apple trees. 



Second — It has a strong collar, and is not liable to break down. 



