io8 THE FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE. 



subject to gum, apple and pear trees to canker on free as well as on dwarfing stocks. 

 Over-crowding, over-cropping, and lack of nutrition are overlooked when disease arises, 

 but neglect or bad management is no excuse for abusing the stock. Budding and graft- 

 ing check growth extension and conduce to fruitfulness. A seedling tree worked in 

 itself, repeating the process annually, brings the most refractory into a fruiting state, the 

 object being sooner attained by budding or grafting on a stock of slower growth. A 

 knowledge of these peculiarities suggests to cultivators that many trees valuable on 

 account of the fruit, but too strong in growth and shy in bearing, may be so far changed 

 by the influence of dwarf stocks as to produce fruit abundantly. 



Yet though much may be done in improving the health and fertility of fruit trees and 

 the flavour of their fruit by budding or grafting directly on dwarfing stocks, this does 

 not apply to every variety. All pears will not succeed on the quince, and with those 

 11 double working " is practised with great advantage. The shy-bearing Gansel's Berga- 

 mot pear worked on Beurre' d'Amanlis, that being grafted on the quince, is rendered 

 very prolific, and the grittiness of the fruit removed. Beurre Ranee pear treated similarly 

 has its fruit increased in size and its astringent flavour softened. Many other varieties 

 are improved in the same way. Cherries of the Heart and Bigarreau sections, that do 

 not succeed on the Mahaleb stocks, are improved in size and quality by an intermediate 

 stock of the Morello. Tardy slow -bearing apples are made productive by an inter- 

 mediate stock of a free-bearing sort, such as Hawthornden or Manks Codlin. The abun- 

 dance of sap or nourishment gathered up by the roots of dwarfing stocks causes in most 

 cases a larger and finer growth of fruit, this showing that the sap is expended on the 

 reproductive parts. Where the junction of stock is perfect, dwarfing must be effected by 

 the roots, for whatever checks the vitality, as root-pruning, causes the tree to become 

 dwarf, and centre its forces on reproduction. Excessive vigour and great productive- 

 ness are antagonistic ; therefore a tree on a dwarfing stock will, after the first vigour is 

 over, if healthy and properly fed, produce good crops, and mature a reasonable amount 

 of wood. Certain varieties, however, never unite properly, the cellular tissue not making 

 a perfect union. 



Now as it is pretty well known that in nature two forces can scarcely combine without 

 mutual influence on each other, we might expect some difference in the stock by the 

 influence of the graft, as well as to find the graft influenced by the stock, and such is the 

 case. If we take two quince stocks of equal strength and vigour, grow them as near as 

 may be in similar circumstances, graft on one a strong- growing variety of pear, and 



