DWARF APPLES 

 U. P. HEDRICK 



Horticulturist, Ne\v York Agriculture Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y. 



Especial interest in dwarf apples at the New York Agricultural 

 Experiment Station began in 1901, when the State Fruit Growers' 

 Association, The Eastern New York Horticultural Society, and 

 the Western New York Horticultural Society appointed com- 

 mittees to confer with the authorities at the Station for the pur- 

 pose of locating experimental orchards of dwarf apples. At that 

 time the country was in one of the periodic revivals of interest 

 in dwarf fruits that have several times held sway in eastern 

 America. But there was a well-defined motive behind the move- 

 ment that led the horticultural societies of New York and this 

 Station to cooperate in the planting of dwarf apples. 



San Jose scale had come in the state and was rapidly spread- 

 ing. It was thought that the scale could best be controlled by 

 fumigating the trees under tents. Since it was certain that dwarf 

 trees could be easily fumigated, fruit growers asked for an ex- 

 periment in order to determine whether dwarf apples could be 

 grown profitably in commercial orchards. Had ifTiot been for 

 this apprehension of grievous disaster from San Jose scale, it is 

 doubtful whether the fruit growers would have called for the in- 

 vestigation, or whether the Station would have voluntarily under- 

 taken it. 



DWARF TREES 



Dwarf trees are plants that by various means are made to grow 

 smaller than normal specimens of the same species or variety ; for 

 example, by growing on stocks that dwarf the top, by restricting 

 the root run, and by pruning to check or suppress the top. Horti- 

 culturally speaking, dwarf trees are those grown on dwarfing 

 stocks. In this connection it may be remarked that tree-like forms 

 usually succeed very well on bushes or smaller growing plants of 

 the same species, or often of closely related species. The cases 

 are few, however, where varieties or species of small stature can 

 be profitably grafted on plants of larger size. Unforunately, 

 there are no known relationships of plants that serve as accurate 



guides in the matter of grafting. 



[871] 



