33 2 BULLETIN 226. 



When the farmer has top-grafted his trees, as is sometimes done for 

 other reasons, there has probably been more or less unconscious selection 

 from good trees. Few nurserymen have yet paid any attention to the 

 matter, nor are they likely to do so till fruit-growers are willing to pay 

 for the increased work.* 



One good example of care in the selection of scions was seen in Orleans 

 county. Fifty-three years ago Mr. Russell Smith of Albion grafted one 

 tree to Baldwin. This proved to be so exceptionally productive that he 

 grafted some of the other trees in the same orchard with scions from it. 

 A few years later another orchard of three acres was planted. A large 

 part of these trees were top-worked to Baldwin with scions from the 

 original tree. In 1868 his sons, S. W. and William Smith, decided to 

 plant ten acres more. They bought good Northern Spy trees for stocks 

 and top-worked them to Baldwin. Most farmers would have taken the 

 scions from the young orchard because longer and better-looking shoots 

 could have been obtained, but they were not satisfied to do this. They 

 went to the original " mother tree " for all the scions. This mother tree 

 is still living and producing apples. " It is literally bearing itself to 

 death." (See Fig. 76.) The orchards grafted from it are all producing 

 large crops. (See Fig. 77.) Of course there are plenty of good trees 

 in New York that were budded or grafted with scions taken from young 

 trees or that were taken indiscriminately from old trees, just as there are 

 good cattle that were produced without any care in breeding. Some good 

 ones will certainly be secured by accident, but the scientific fruit-grower 

 eliminates all accidents so far as possible. He increases his chances for 

 success when he secures good nursery-grown stock and top-works it from 

 trees of bearing age trees of known productiveness, vigor and quality. 



*J. H. Teats & Sons, of Williamson, are growing " pedigreed " peach trees. They 

 have several good orchards, but have only a few trees that they consider good enough 

 to bud from. Such a tree must be hardy, it must bear the best peaches and plenty 

 of them. They find that the public is willing to pay more for these trees than for 

 trees where no selection has been practiced. 



