1/5 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



as I ever saw worked on crab roots, Transcendent and Hyslo]), 

 of which he had planted the seeds himself. I wanted to get a few 

 more trees, so I asked him if he would furnish me one hundred 

 trees. He said he had trees raised from apple seeds, and he said 

 as long as I thought they were just as good he would sell them 

 to me for $20 a hundred, and he said he would sell me one hun- 

 dred growing on crab roots for $35. Well, I was hard up, and 

 at that time a difference of $15 was quite an item to me, and I 

 thought the other trees were about as good anyway, so I said I 

 would take the trees raised from apple seed, the seed being 

 saved from cider mill seed. "Now, young man," said Mr. Wil- 

 cox, "it will cost me something to convert you, but I am going to 

 let you learn by your own experience. I am going to sell you 

 those apple seed trees, and then I am going to give you a dozen 

 of those root-grafted trees just to convert you. You think you 

 are pretty smart, but you don't know everything yet." Well, 

 I did think I was pretty smart ; I thought I knew more than 

 the old man did. I planted that dozen trees — I think it must 

 have been twenty-five years ago — and with one exception, an 

 Utter, with that one exception they are all standing today and 

 bearing fruit. The one hundred apple seed trees have gone to 

 the brush pile long ago. That dozen trees, gentlemen, is suffi- 

 cient evidence about this crab seed business. 



The Chairman : Were those trees grafted on Pyrus baccata 

 or hybrids? 



Mr. Philips : On Orange crab and hybrid. 



Mr. C. E. Older: I see Prof. Hansen does not advocate piece- 

 root grafting on Pyrus baccata, and Mr. Patten has used piece- 

 root grafts in his experiment. 



Mr. O. W. Moore: I am not a nurseryman, but I did a little 

 experimenting for my own benefit more than anything else, and 

 although I cannot give you any results, I will simply tell you 

 what I have done. I bought five hundred hybrid seedlings last 

 spring of Mr. Ivins, of Iowa Falls. I grafted on those five hun- 

 dred hybrid seedling roots Hibernal and Virginia crabs. I used 

 seven inches of root and seven inches of scion. I grafted them 

 in the winter and put them out this last spring, and they are 

 all growing. I intend to grow them another season when I 

 shall top-work them again to the various kinds of apples I wish 

 to grow upon them, Wealthy or anything else I want to produce 

 in the apple line. I am going to double-work them, and the 

 result of this experiment, of course, will come out later on. 



Mr. Frank Yahnke : I have experimented along this line a 

 little, and I find in root-grafting that the scion in the course of 

 three or four years influences the root a good deal, that is, the 

 character of the root, but it does not change the nature. Say, for 

 instance, we graft on Transcendent crab a common apple seed- 

 ling, and in the course of three or four years its nature will 

 change to Transcendent crab wood ; it has different wood, it is 

 hardier than anything else. 



