24 FIRST FKUITS OF THE LAND. 



fifty trees. It was said and believed by many that the 

 union would not be good at the graft, and trees thus 

 treated would break down under a heavy load of fruit or 

 from our occasional heavy sleets. This has not proven 

 true only a suspicious foreboding. Under a heavy 

 weight of fruit and in two heavy sleets the union of the 

 graft, to the contrary, has proven to be as strong as any 

 part of the tree, and it has transpired that this top-graft- 

 ing is not so difficult and mysterious a handicraft as is 

 generally supposed. Any careful, painstaking man can, 

 in a few hours, learn to set a graft ; 'and so with the wax- 

 ing, etc. A sharp grafting knife, a trimming saw, a 

 package of cotton batting, a waxing brush, and a heating 

 appliance with kettle of grafting wax, is all the equipment 

 required. For wax, linseed oil and resin, heated and 

 mixed to a right consistence (which is a matter of a little 

 common sense experience). A man who could not learn 

 to top-graft in a day or two of experience I should not 

 consider an orchardist or fit to work in an orchard. 



My grafting has been done in March, April, and May, 

 sometimes even after trees were in bloom, and leaf. Scions 

 cut in January or February, tied in bunches and set (cut 

 ends down) in loose earth on the north side of a building, 

 under shed, have always kept well. 



Now it transpires that eastern Oregon, Washington, 

 Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and other localities, 

 grow successfully the Italian prune, and could probably 

 supply the market of the United States. California set 

 great areas of French prunes, and overdid the business, 

 as Californians are apt to do. Probably California, in the 

 near future, will produce more prunes than the world now 

 consumes. For these and other reasons prunes annually 

 dropped in prices from twelve and one half to four cents, 

 and five and one half cents, the present offering. This 

 year the four sizes of French prunes are held at two and 



