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THE MINNESOTA 
HORTICULTURIST. 
VOL. 26. MAY, 1808. No. 5. 
THE PHILOSOPHY OF TOP-WORKING AND INFLUENCE 
OF THE STOCK. 
J. M. UNDERWOOD, LAKE CITY. 
Top-grafting is the art of converting one variety of tree or 
plant into another, and in the consideration of the subject at this 
time I will only speak of it in regard to its application to top-work- 
ing the apple and plum. One advantage to be derived from it is to 
bring a variety into early fruiting. If you have some new varieties 
of those new seedlings that have been mentioned here, and you 
want to bring them into bearing quickly to see what the value of the 
fruit is, you can do it by top-working; and if you should have a 
good many of one variety of apple or crab that you do not want so 
many of, you can change them to a more profitable kind by top- 
working. 
The stock that you should use is preferably something that is a 
strong grower, free from blight and hardy. Although in sections 
of the country where they do not pay any attention to hardiness, 
any seedling is hardy, and it is only necessary to have the tree in 
good condition, here in Minnesota, as applied to our work, I think 
we ought to consider the matter of hardiness; and last winter, if 
you remember, it was brought out here that the Virginia crab was 
one of the best stocks for top-working that we have. I have no 
doubt it is a good stock, because it is a strong grower, and the 
lateral branches come out all along the body of the tree, and it 
makes a very well proportioned tree when properly top-worked. So 
far as my observation goes, I think Mr. Dartt’s seedling crab would 
be better than the Virginia; I have not seen it in large trees except 
in the original tree, but as a young tree itis a very excellent grow- 
ing tree. 
I have noticed in nursery work that where the top of a tree is very 
vigorous and strong, that the root is also correspondingly vigorous 
and strong. This is a little variation from the topic, but it applies to 
the subject under consideration, because if a strong growing top 
will produce a strong growing root,as it does in the nursery, we may 
