20 THE NURSERY. 



tion all the authorities favoring the whole root sys- 

 tem, who are practical propagators, are from the 

 south or from the border states, while those taking 

 the opposite view are almost as invariably from the 

 north. Both sides are right and both are wrong. 

 We will take the words of our southern brethren, 

 they are supposed to know better what they want 

 than we do, but they are wrong in condemning a 

 different practice in the north, by which alone we 

 can grow a thoroughly good and sound tree. 



Prof. McAfee states that not more than ten seed- 

 ling apple trees in 100 are hardy enough to go 

 through a test winter uninjured, especially when 

 young. This is my experience, or, I would say 

 he has set the proportion of the hardy ones very 

 much too high. Should we attempt to make a 

 sound tree with one of these tender seedlings, how- 

 ever hardy the cion we use might be, we should fail 

 in the north, if we depended upon making the 

 union at any point very near the ground surface. 

 This has been demonstrated so many times that 

 there is no longer a question left concerning it. By 

 using a short section of root and a long cion, and 

 setting the whole entirely in the ground, we make 

 the union 5 to 6 inches under ground, where it is 

 so protected as to generally go through the hardest 

 winter uninjured, and serves its purpose until the 

 tree gets "upon its own roots," which it will always 

 do in a few years, frequently making a fine strong 

 system of its own the first season, and nearly always 

 by the second season. If I were propagating trees 



