120 



time for performing the operation being immediately before the sap 

 commences to rise in the spring. The stocks now generally used in this 

 part of the world for the Apple are the Northern Spy for the stronger 

 kinds and the Winter Majetin for those that are less robust. Both 

 these kinds are absolutely proof against the American Blight or Woolly 

 Aphis, and have given satisfaction. The Irish Peach, New England 

 Pigeon, Isle of Wight Pippin and Devonshire Stubbard are also more or 

 less blight-resisting. The same quality is also claimed for several colonial- 

 raised seedlings', but further experience is required before they can be 

 ranked as absolutely blight-proof varieties. An addition to the list of 

 non-blighting kinds will be an advantage, as it will allow a wider 

 selection of stocks. We may in this way get stocks better adapted for 

 particular climates, soils and varieties than those now generally used 

 For dwarf trees the Doucin or Broad-leaved Paradise and the English 

 Paradise stocks must be used. European cultivators use the ordinary 

 Crab Apple to a large extent as a stock when large trees are required. 

 For trees of smaller size the Siberian Crab finds favour with many. 

 Stocks are obtained from cuttings, which usually strike freely, but their 

 growth may be accelerated by grafting small pieces of root upon them 

 before putting them in. Budding, though not nearly so generally prac- 

 tised as grafting, is preferred by some growers, and may be successfully 

 performed during the growing season when the bark will separate freely 

 from the wood. Usually the best time for budding is a little past mid- 

 summer, For the propagation of new or rare varieties budding is a 

 useful method, as it allows every bud to be utilised. Layering is a 

 method practised for the raising of dwarf stocks, but not to any great 

 extent. It should be done during the winter. New varieties, as a 

 matter of course, can only be obtained from seed ; and if a quantity of 

 pips are sown they will for a certainty produce in time a number of 

 kinds. Some of these may possibly be useful kinds, but the number of 

 Apples under cultivation at the present time is so large that it is not 

 desirable to add to the list, except in the case of varieties having 

 qualities that specially recommend them. If we can get a new variety 

 that is earlier, later, more highly-flavoured, or will keep better than 

 others of its class, then it may be regarded as an acquisition. Then, 

 again, if cultivators, by cross fertilisation, can manage to raise varieties 

 which combine in the one firuit the distinctively good qualities of two 

 older sorts, the horticultural world will gain for instance, a combina- 

 tion of the rich flavour of the Bibston Pippin with the keeping quality 

 of the French Crab or Stone Pippin would be an undoubted acquisition. 



INSECTS. 



Various insect pests are troublesome to the Apple, and several to 

 a considerable extent. The following is a descriptive list of the more 

 prominent insects that specially affect this fruit : 



American Bliyht. This troublesome pest, known also as the Woolly 

 Aphis (Schizoneura lanigera), is widely spread through the Australasian 

 colonies. Its peculiar white woolly appearance, which is too familiar 



