198 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



ing from the cutting- of a Northern Spy. To facilitate the rooting of 

 these cuttings a small piece of any kind of apple root is put in by side 

 graft near the bottom of the cutting. This acts as a starter, but the 

 cutting will also make roots of itself. At the end of the first year then 

 the cuttings are taken up, the piece of root used as a starter is cleanly 

 cut away and the rooted cutting replanted; henceforth it is dependent 

 upon its own roots and is resistant. The variety desired is then grafted 

 in a little way above the ground surface so that there will be no danger 

 of its making its own roots. By either of these processes it is more 

 troublesome and takes more time to produce a tree with a resistant 

 root than in the ordinary way, and for that reason trees on resistant 

 roots are sold at a higher price. This may be the reason why resistant 

 trees are not yet largely used in this State. 



Other suggestions applicable to the growth of young apple trees 

 are given in Chapters VIII and IX. 



DISEASES AND PESTS OF THE APPLE 



The apple is subject to various diseases and insect enemies which 

 must be resolutely fought or they will render the trees unprofitable. 

 Chief of these diseases are the "pear blight" and the apple scab, and 

 the apple mildew. Of the insect enemies the codlin moth, the apple- 

 leaf aphis, the various leaf-cutting caterpillars and several scale insects 

 must be kept in check and the latest approved means of reducing these 

 troubles will be described in detail in later chapters. 



PLANTING AND CARE OF THE APPLE ORCHARD 



The chapters on planting, and pruning contain suggestions to which 

 the reader is referred. Care should be taken to obtain trees with clean, 

 healthy roots, not knotted and scarred by woolly aphis. 



Distance in Planting. The distance between the trees is of the 

 highest importance. All the old apple orchards are overcrowded. 

 More recently trees have been set at greater distances, and such plant- 

 ing is now generally advised. There is some difference of opinion as to 

 proper distance, but certainly twenty-five to thirty feet is near enough, 

 and some of the best new orchards have been planted at forty feet, the 

 ground being used for a time with other crops or planted with early 

 bearing trees, for which the soil is suited, between them. 



Pruning the Apple. The manner of shaping fruit trees described 

 in the chapter on pruning succeeds admirably with the apple. Year- 

 ling trees are usually planted, and they are regularly pruned until 

 proper form is secured. 



Mr. C. H. Rodgers, during his life-time a leading apple grower of 

 the Watsonville district, near the coast in central California, gave the 

 following excellent outline of a simple and economical, yet successful, 

 method for apple tree building under ordinary conditions : 



