FRUITS. 165 



should always be at hand to avoid breaking the limbs by the 

 weight of the operator. If by too close planting the branch- 

 es of different trees be brought into contact, thorough prun- 

 ing is absolutely necessary, as without it good fruit cannot be 

 obtained. 



GRAFTING AND BUDDING. These operations are so sim- 

 ple, and usually so well known by some individual in every 

 fanning neighborhood, that no written description of either 

 operation is necessary. Grafting wax of the best kind is 

 thus made.' Take four parts of rosin, one of tallow and one 

 of beeswax, melt and stir them well together, then pour them 

 into a bucket or pan of cold water. As soon as cool enough to 

 be handled, work it over and draw it out like shoe -maker's 

 wax until it is entirely pliable. It may then be used imme- 

 diately or laid up and kept for years. The mode of applying 

 it is known to^every grafter. Scions should always be of 

 the growth of the preceeding year and cut from well ripened, 

 thrifty wood in the months of January, February or March, 

 before the buds begin to swell with the flow of the spring 

 sap. Tie them up and keep in a moist cool place, a cellar 

 bottom, or box of moss or earth till ready for use. When cir- 

 cumstances require it, grafts may be cut at any time after the 

 fall of the leaf, but the months indicated are best in all locali- 

 ties north of the Potomac and Ohio rivers. July and August 

 are the best time for budding. This should always be done 

 while the sap is in flow and the bark is loose, as at no other 

 time is success certain. 



SELECTION OF TREES. These should always be selected 

 from seedlings. Suckers from the roots of grown trees are 

 objectionable as tending to throw up suckers themselves which 

 are always troublesome. When they appear, these should 

 be cut close to the root or stem, and if properly done, they 

 will rarely sprout anew. 



PLANTING THE SEED. If the farmer wish to raise his own 

 trees, he can sow the seed or pomace in rows in the fall. Af- 

 ter they come up in the spring, weed and hoe them like any 

 vegetable. When a year-old, they should be carefully taken 

 up, the tap root cut off* and replanted in rows four feet apart, 

 and at least a foot distant in the rows, when they should be 

 regularly trimmed and cultivated till they are 1 i or 2 inches 

 diameter at the base, at which time they are fit for the orch- 

 ard. These operations are however the appropriate business 

 of the nurseryman, for whose guidance there should always 

 be at hand, some standard work on the cultivation of fruits, 



