ROOT-GRAFTING THE APPLE. 439 



ROOT-GRAFTING THE APPLE. 



C. H. ANDREWS, MINN. SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE. 



The object of root-grafting the apple is to propagate varieties true 

 to name, and to get the union of the ciou and the stock under the 

 ground, where it will be somewhat protected. 



The stocks used for root-grafting are seedlings, either one or two 

 years old, the age depending on the size required for the cions. The 

 seedlings for this purpose are best grown on a rich, moist, sandy 

 soil, so as to get a straight, vigorous growth. In autumn, the seed- 

 lings are dug and packed in sawdust in a cold cellar, where they 

 remain until wanted for grafting. 



The cions must be wood of the previous season's growth and 

 should be cut late in autumn when thd temperature is above freez- 

 ing and, after being labeled, packed in sawdust in a cool place. 



Grafting may be done any time during the winter. A cion five or 

 six inches long is cut off at one end in an oblique direction making 

 the cut surface about an inch or so long, then a tongue is made by 

 splitting down across the face of the cut about one-third of its 

 length, beginning at a point about that far from the end of the cion. 

 A piece of root four or five inches long is treated the same way as 

 the cion was, and the two are then united, care being taken that the 

 inner, or cambium, layer of the bark of the cion and the root coin- 

 cides on at least one side of the union. The graft is now wrapped 

 with waxed twine, or wax may be spread upon cloth or paper, which 

 is then cut into strips and firmly wrapped around the union, also 

 above and below it, so as to exclude all air. The latter method keeps 

 the graft from drying out and does not cut into the bark after the 

 plant grows. The grafts are packed in boxes in a mixture of sand 

 and sawdust, and are kept until planting time in a cold cellar to cal- 

 lous over and grow together. 



The land where they are to be set should be finely pulverized and 

 rolled or planked to level the surface. As soon as there is no danger 

 of a severe frost, the grafts may be planted. They are usually put 

 six or eight inches apart in rows three or three and one-half feet 

 apart, running the rows north and south. All sprouts that may 

 have started from the root should be rubbed off. In planting, the 

 earth must be packed very firmly around the graft, which ought to 

 be set deep enough so that only one or two buds will show after 

 the ground has settled. 



Cultivation should be frequent in order to kill the weeds and to 

 keep a dust blanket on the soil, but it should not be continued later 

 than the tenth or the middle of July, as it is likely to induce a late 

 fall growth that cannot be ripened up. 



The grafts require no pruning the first year. Early in the spring 

 of the second season, they are cut back to one or two buds, and a 

 strong, straight shoot is sent up, which is pruned later 1o make it 

 head properly. The third season, the pruning done is merely 

 enough to keep the tree in proper shape. 



The growth the trees make depends a good deal on the soil, the 

 season and the variet3^ Yearlings run from one foot or less to two 



