THE APPLE TREE ] 255 



of the apple are more suitable for small or low forms 

 and therefore in their case the paradise should be 

 preferred as stock. The apple is frequently grafted on 

 the hawthorn (Crataegus Oxyacantha L. var. monogyna 

 Jacq.) which abounds in our valleys and seems to thrive 

 well on this stock. It is also grafted on the Azarole 

 (Crataegus Azarolus L.), and occasionally on the quince ; 

 but on this last the apple though it is fairly productive, 

 rarely thrives well and is short-lived. The best grafting 

 stock for the apple is the seedling apple raised by sowing 

 the kernels of the cultivated sorts. Suckers from these 

 seedlings, as well as the suckers which are produced 

 abundantly by the paradise stock and the doucin stock, 

 are frequently removed in winter and used as grafting 

 stock in the same manner as seedlings. 



However, most gardeners as a rule prefer to grow 

 their apples by direct propagation from cuttings or 

 layers or from suckers thrown up by apple trees grown 

 on own roots. It is owing to this method of propagation 

 that the cultivation of the apple has spread and is 

 spreading so well, in spite of the wood borers which 

 infest our kernel fruits. In fact when the stem of an 

 apple tree is too much damaged by the larvae of 

 these insects, a sucker is allowed to grow by its side, 

 and as it makes very quick growth in two or three 

 years it will be quite strong and in bearing condition, 

 so that when the old stem is removed the sucker is 

 already a productive unity. 



Cuttings are made during winter from December 

 to February, yearling spurs, 10 to 15 c.m. long, taken 

 with a heel of the older wood, make excellent cuttings, 

 but many gardeners make their cuttings of older wood, 

 two to four years old, the cuttings being 15 to 30 c.m. 

 long, with or without a terminal bud on new wood. 

 The bed is prepared in a cool situation along a 

 northern wall, and the soil is digged deeply and mixed 

 with some old manure. The cuttings are planted deeply, 



