94 On Apple Trees and Grafting. 
must certainly have understood either grafting or io- 
culation, long before the white people came among 
them ;—as seven of the largest and oldest trees on his 
farm standing compact together, all bore the same kind 
of apple; and he then considered those trees far older 
than the European settlement of America.—I well re- 
member the kind of apple: they were very excellent, 
a large long red delicious winter apple ;—I believe that 
those trees are now all decayed and gone. 
Another reason why I consider the apple tree spon- 
taneous to this country, is, I have seen apple trees said 
to have been imported from Europe, by the first set- 
tlers, not as large or of as old appearance as those men- 
tioned, by several generations of trees. 
As [have had great experience in crown grafting, 
and consider it far the most valuable mode of propaga- 
tion, I will offer a few remarks. 
‘The season I prefer, is late in the spring, but before 
the sap starts to loosen the bark, yet I have several 
times practised it with success, after the trees were fully 
green ; but in that case, care is required not to loosen 
the bark. 
In regard to binding up my graft, I use nothing but 
simple potter’s clay, well worked, of which I put on 
plenty, and endeavour to press it round the stock below 
the split, so as to be waterstight and retain all the sap 
that issues from the stock to nourish the graft. 
The stocks often split rough or with a twist; my prac- 
tice is to shave them out smooth with the point of a 
knife, that the sides thereof and the graft may make a 
joint. 
