[ THE APRICOT 



apricot come fairly true from seed, but as in the case of 

 most other fruits, seedlings of the apricot are liable to 

 vary more or less from the type, being sometimes 

 exceedingly productive but producing smaller fruits, and 

 as often turning out very shy bearers. At any rate the 

 apricot grown from seed or grafted on apricot seedlings 

 is always very vigorous, grows to a large size, and lives 

 longer than trees budded or grafted on the plum or 

 on the almond, and it is a pity that this method of 

 propagation is not more frequently followed by our 

 gardeners. The stones of the apricot may be stratified 

 in a box with ordinary garden soil and sown in the 

 following January or February in the same way as the 

 almond, and germination takes place in March or April. 

 If the seedlings are properly watered they continue 

 growing until late in summer, and some of them w/ll be 

 large enough to be budded in the following spring, and 

 the remainder may be grafted in winter. In two or three 

 years the young trees may be transplanted in winter to 

 their final destination. The apricot grown on own roots 

 is less liable to suffer from root'-rot, and is more resisting 

 to adverse conditions of the soil and situation than if 

 grafted on the. plum. 



However in the large majority of cases the apricot 

 is propagated by grafting or budding on plum stock in 

 the same way as the cultivated plums. All sorts of 

 apricots do well on this stock and seem to impart to it 

 some of their vigour. Budding may be done from March 

 to September provided that the sap of the stock is in 

 active movement. Grafting is done in winter from 

 December to February or even early in March until the 

 buds of the apricot begin to swell. In both cases 

 it is better to bud or graft close to the ground, and 

 then rear the young tree as standard, if desired. If 

 the situation is at all exposed, trees reared as bushes 

 or trained to the vase shape are more productive than 

 standards. 



