THE FKFIT TXDUSTKY IN XKW YORK STATE 



some of the trees that refused to thrive did so because of the ex- 

 posed condition of their roots, while in a damper climate, in sod, 

 or under a mulch system, surface rooting might not prove so^ 

 disastrous. 



This experiment all but demonstrates that dwarf apples can 

 not be successfully grown under the high cultivation methods of 

 Xew York. It may be asked why the trees were not set deeper. 

 The answer is that if the trees be set sufficienty deep so that the 

 scion touches the ground, it strikes and the tree ceases to be a 

 true dwarf. Many trees that pass for dwarfs are not dwarfs at all. 

 They were set on dwarf stocks, but the scion has taken root and 

 the tree has become a standard, or, more correctly, half standard 

 and half dwarf. 



Suckering. Suckers from both of the dwarfing stocks proved 

 more or less troublesome. It would be difficult to say whether 

 Doucin or Paradise suckered most, but the weight of evidence 

 seems to be against the Doucin. Both stocks are readily pro- 

 pagated from layers and stolons, either roots or stems striking 

 root freely. It would, then, be expected that suckers would ap- 

 pear more freely than on standard stocks which come from seed 

 and can be grown vegetatively only with difficulty. Presumably, 

 however, there would have been far fewer suckers to contend with 

 in these orchards under a sod or a mulch system of cultivation, 

 for certainly the unavoidable injury to the shallow roots of the 

 dwarf trees by plow and cultivator would stimulate the formation 

 of suckers. The lower half of Fig. 248 shows the suckering habit 

 of the Doucin stock. 



The Size of the Trees. What is the comparative size of varieties 

 on the three stocks ? Could the reader see the trees, eyesight 

 would be much better than figures to show their size. Thus, 

 the Paradise trees are dwarf because of a very short trunk, th< 

 diameter of which is often nearly that of a Doucin or standard 

 the shoots of Paradise spring up to an amazing height from 

 dwarf framework so that figures make the trees seem unduly higl 

 So, too, the slendered and more straggling growth of the Doucii 

 trees magnifies the height and spread of trees on this stock 

 figures be followed closely. The photograph reproduced in Fij 

 251 gives a much better idea of the size and habit of the ti 

 than would figures. 



