GRAFTING AND BUDDING 329 



Pear cions do well on seedlings of wild or in- 

 ferior varieties of pears. Most of the seedlings 

 grown in this country are grown from seeds 

 secured from Europe. Quince stocks are some- 

 times used for certain pears, more especially for 

 dwarfing and bringing into early bearing. 



Seedlings of the hardiest and most vigorous 

 growing varieties of plums, either European or 

 American, may be used for plum stocks. The 

 myrobalan plum from France is a favorite. The 

 peach is also used for some varieties. 



If it is desired to test the qualities of hundreds 

 or thousands of seedling fruits, a knowledge of 

 grafting is of the utmost importance, as several 

 hundred varieties may be readily tested on a 

 single tree. 



On my Gold Ridge Farm there are single 

 acres on which ripen several thousand distinct 

 varieties of hybrid seedling plums that could not 

 properly be tested one each on a separate tree 011 

 less than about seven hundred acres of land. Be- 

 sides, a seedling grafted into a bearing tree usu- 

 ally produces fruit in two or three years, but if 

 the same seedling were planted as usual and al- 

 lowed to fruit, it might require five, ten, or fifteen 

 years. There is still another advantage in graft- 

 ing many seedlings on a single tree ; a better op- 

 portunity is afforded for comparative tests; if 



