ADAPTATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF FRUIT. 287 



Mr. Philips : Well, I guess it was. Kellogg had prepared a 

 resolution to throw the Walbridge out, and he came to see me on 

 his way to the winter meeting with the resolution in his pocket. I 

 said to my wife, "You make just as good a pie as you can out of the 

 Walbridge." Kellogg likes pie. He took dinner with me, and after 

 he ate a piece of pie he said it was the best pie he ever ate, and 

 he ate another piece. I told him it was made from the Walbridge. 

 He said he didn't believe it. But he believed my wife, and he took 

 out his resolution, and in one place in his report he said that the 

 Walbridge in some particulars was one of the best apples growing. 

 (Laughter.) I graft it on the Virginia because the Virginia has 

 more vigor and strength than the Walbridge. That is the reason the 

 Wealthy does better on the Virginia; the Virginia has more root 

 power. 



Mr. Taylor : Where you have grafted on the Virginia and the 

 Martha have you noticed any difference in the amount of fruit? 



Mr. Philips : I have not used the Martha much ; it crotches. I 

 want something like the Virginia or the Hibernal, with horizontal 

 limbs. Now I have seen some Northwestern Greening treer, that 

 had three barrels of apples on, but they crotched so badly that the 

 limbs broke off. I have the Utter bearing on seven different stocks. 

 The Utter bears better on the No. 20 and the Virginia than it does 

 on any other variety with me. I have it on the Duchess. The Vir- 

 ginia is a heavy bearer, and so is the Hibernal, and they are both 

 good stocks. 



Mr. Wedge : I would like to ask Mr. Philips whether the fruit 

 he showed at Milwaukee was grown on a top-worked tree. 



Mr. Philips : Yes, I top-worked a number of varieties for that 

 purpose. The McMahon I did not top-work to get hardiness ; it is 

 hardy enough, but I did it to get nice fruit. 



Mr. Wedge: Was the majority top-worked? 



Mr. Philips: Yes, the majority of the fruit in our own show 

 was top-worked. 



Mr. Wedge : I thought it might be well to state to the society 

 that I happened to be in attendance at the Wisconsin state fail , and 

 there were there some very large displays of apples, but Mr Philips 

 was way ahead of anything that was shown there in quality ; I would 

 not say in number of varieties, but I believe he was ahead there ; but 

 it was a large, smooth, handsome display of fruit. I thought if that 

 fact would do anything towards the improvement of fruit it was 

 worth something. 



Mr. Jewett : Have you noticed whether it makes any difference 

 whether a scion is grafted low down or far out on the end of the 

 limb as to whether it makes a good union or not. I spoke with 

 Mr. Patten about that matter, and he said the nearer the graft was 

 to the stock the better union it would form. I am going to graft 

 four or five hundred trees next spring, and if there is anything in it 

 I want to make use of it. 



Mr. Philips: I vary that according to the size of the limb I 

 graft in. If that limb is very small I cut in pretty close. I get a 

 good union. If it is larger I cut a little further out, sometimes a 



