330 LUTHER BURBANK 



scattered over a large orchard, some trees might 

 be in better condition, or have better roots or 

 better soil than others, and thus no accurate com- 

 parative test could be made. 



In grafting for the purpose of testing seed- 

 lings, the weaker-growing seedlings are placed 

 on the strongest-growing branches of the tree, 

 the stronger growers being placed toward the 

 outside and lower down on the tree and on the 

 smaller branches. 



When so many varieties are grafted on a 

 single tree, some may be extremely vigorous 

 growers, others only moderately so, and still 

 others will be weak, slow growers. In the winter 

 pruning we always take pains to give the weaker 

 growers plenty of space to develop, while the 

 stronger growers are severely pruned. 



It is no small matter to prune properly a tree 

 on which several hundred varieties are being 

 tested. An ordinary pruner might ruin the tree 

 in a few minutes, by leaving the most worthless 

 varieties almost covering the tree, while smaller, 

 slower-growing varieties of great value might be 

 so crowded that they would either die or become 

 stunted and bear no fruit. This later aspect of 

 the process of grafting, then, is one that im- 

 peratively demands the attention of the plant de- 

 veloper himself, or of his most skillful assistants. 



