666 HOW TO PKOI'AGATE FRUIT BEARING TREES. 



HOW TO PROPAGATE FRUIT-BEARING TREES 

 AND SHRUBS. 



There are divers ways of conducting this important part of the 

 business of fruit culture. First, by planting, wnich is the course 

 pursued by nature; second, by "budding," and third, by graft- 

 ing. All fruit trees are originally the offspring of seed which has 

 been planted in the ground; but these trees themselves subsequently 

 are changed in their character by the insertion into their systems of 

 buds or grafts which have been taken from other trees. 



It is a curious fact that a fruit tree which has grown up from 

 the seed, will not unlikely yield different fruit from that of the tree 

 upon which was grown the fruit from which the seed was taken ; 

 but if propagation be made by budding, the fruit which will be 

 yielded by the branch developed from the bud will almost invari- 

 ably be precisely like that of the tree from which the bud was taken. 

 The reason is that the bud has arrived at a more perfect state of de- 

 velopment than the seed, and received into itself a sufficient part 

 of the nature of the tree upon which it grew, as to be sure of hav- 

 ing and of expressing in its own produce, the particular character 

 of its own tree. In view of these facts, the farmer will find it wise 

 to propagate fruit trees by budding, rather than by seeding, and 

 to pursue the same course as to the smaller fruit-bearing plants and 

 shrubs. The chief means of propagating the different varieties of 

 the larger kinds of fruit trees is by grafting or budding. The graft- 

 ing mode can be used with trees of whatever size, and can be ap- 

 plied also to the roots of trees of the smaller varieties. 



Grafting is performed in various ways. Those preferable 

 in the farm orchard are clef t -grafting , in connection with trees 

 which are mature, and whip-grafting for those trees which are of 

 smaller growth. The former is employed when the tree to be en- 

 grafted is larger than that which is intended to be attached to it, 

 and it is the manner of operating when the tree to receive the new 

 fruit has grown to considerable size. 



Method of Cleft-Grafting" The express manner of per- 

 forming the cleft-grafting operation is to saw off the stock, and 

 split it through the middle, and then in the split insert the scions 

 (two), having made their ends wedge-shaped. Some persons in per- 

 forming this operation place these scions in the split quite straight- 

 ly ; the course which others follow is to set them obliquely. The 

 upright one is the better, if the work be performed in a good and 

 workmanlike manner, but if the operator is careless, and not sure 

 of what he is doing, the slanting way will be for him the surer 

 one. Of course the result to be attained is to so set the scion as to 

 have its inner bark connect exactly with the inside bark of the tree 

 upon which the propagation is undertaken, and these barks will 

 anite for some distance if the scions are straightly placed, but there 

 oiust be care taken about this., or the barks may not unite any where. 



