PYRUS BACCATA AS A STOCK FOR THE APPLE. 169 



hering earth are taken out in small blocks with a garden trowel 

 and transplanted into seed beds. The seedlings suffer practically 

 no check in the removal, and a strong growth is secured the 

 first year. The earth in the flats should be watered sufficiently 

 just before transplanting so that the earth will adhere to the roots 

 and yet not be soggy. 



"In the fall the young seedlings are taken up and heeled-in 

 in the cellar or outdoors. In the latter case they are covered 

 entirely with earth and then mulched with tw.o feet of coarse 

 manure. In the spring they are set in nursery rows, four feet 

 apart, and the seedlings ten inches apart in the row. The first 

 fall it is well to loosen the soil near the collar, then bend the 

 top over and cover with earth to prevent injury from rabbits, 

 field mice and the winter. The seedlings remain in nursery row 

 for about two years, after which the best seedlings, those with 

 large leaves, free from thorns and of strong, vigorous growth, are 

 transplanted to the orchard, or if not too thick they may be left 

 in the nursery row to fruit. The fruiting may be hastened by 

 cutting scions at the end of the first or second year and top-graft- 

 ing the following spring into bearing trees." 



23. In the spring of 1902 some seed of Pyrus baccata from 

 near Irkutsk, in the Lake Baikal region of Siberia, was imported 

 by the South Dakota Station. The seed came too late to soak 

 and freeze in the ordinary manner. Hence I determined to give 

 part of the seed a little artificial Siberian weather by freezing in 

 an ice-cream freezer and thawing out slowly. The method suc- 

 ceeded nicely. I thought this was something new, but learned 

 later that our friend President Wedge had done the same thing 

 that spring on his own account. The remainder of the seed was 

 saved over until the following spring in sand kept nearly dry over 

 summer in a cool cellar and stratified outside over winter. This 

 seed came out very nicely, showing that the seed can be one year 

 old without injury to its germinating capacity. From this 

 Irkutsk seed I raised about 28,000 seedlings. Of this number 

 one thousand have been placed at the disposal of the Minnesota 

 society. The remainder will be sent out at a moderate cost in 

 the hope that many will plant them for the purpose of raising 

 seed. 



I have had several opportunities to sell th'ese seedlings for 

 piece-root grafting, owing to the great scarcity this year of or- 

 dinar}^ apple seedlings, but as I desired to avoid the usual piece- 

 root grafting they were all heeled-in outdoors and will not be 

 sent out until too late to use for piece-grafting. 



Recently I received two letters from G. A. Ivins, of Iowa 

 Falls, Iowa, one of the directors of the Iowa State Horticultural 

 Society and who has had long experience in fruit growing. ^Ir. 

 Ivins writes : 



