PROPAGATION 



PRACTICALLY all fruit trees used in gardens or 

 orchards are propagated* by grafting or by bud- 

 ding. This work is usually done by the nursery- 

 man, who sells the trees at an age of one or two 

 years. As a rule, subject only to rare exceptions, 

 this is the best plan. The professional nursery- 

 man, with his experience and with suitable soil, can 

 grow better trees and grow them cheaper than can 

 any ordinary farmer, gardener or fruit grower. 

 Nevertheless there are a good many persons who 



FIG. 1. GRAFTING KNIFE 



like to grow their own young trees, even at a slight 

 extra expense, and such persons ought always to 

 have the privilege. Every gardener and fruit 

 grower, moreover, ought to understand the proc- 

 esses of budding and grafting, if only for fun or 

 self-protection. 



A few fruits, indeed, may be grown from cuttings, 

 without grafting. These are mostly not tree fruits, 

 but such things as currants, grapes, etc. A few 

 varieties of pears and still fewer of plums are suc- 

 cessfully grown from cuttings in the far southern 



*See The Propagation of Plants, by A. S. Fuller. Orange 

 Judd Co., New York. 



