ii4 THE FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE. 



heredital influence. Clearly the Nonesuch Paradise is of the dwarf-apple (Pyrus pumila) 

 type, whilst the Broad-leaved Paradise partakes of the Crab plus earlier fertility. 



Pips or seeds of the crab, apple, and pear are separated from the crushed fruit in 

 a vessel of water, rubbing with the hands to free the seeds from the pomace. The 

 good seeds sink, and are dried after the light ones are poured away with the water. 

 The sound pips are sown in the autumn in well-prepared soil, in an open situation, 

 either broadcast in beds 4 feet wide, or in drills 1 inch deep and 9 inches apart, 

 disposing the seeds about 1 inch apart, and covering them with fine soil, rolling the 

 ground lightly or making it smooth with the back of the spade. In case hard frosts 

 prevail, the seeds are kept in a dry place, safe from frost until spring, but there must 

 not be any needless delay in sowing the seeds, as they do not long retain their 

 germinative power. 



Crab and free apple and pear stock seedlings are thinned in the seed beds, preferably 

 in rainy weather, when 2 or 3 inches high, withdrawing the weakest. In trans- 

 planting, stout yearlings are preferred to the lean and tall ; the aim is a sturdy, healthy 

 stock. Transplantation in light soils may be practised in November, and in strong soils 

 in February. The seedlings are generally bedded, that is, put in rows 1 foot apart, 

 leaving out every fourth or fifth row, placing the plants about 6 inches apart. The 

 tap-root is shortened to about 6 inches, but unless the tops are tall and slender, 

 they are either let alone, or unripe tips only removed. By scrupulously keeping down 

 weeds the seedlings make a sturdy growth, and in the autumn, or that following, 

 are transplanted 18 to 24 inches apart, in lines 36 to 42 inches asunder, and are 

 fit to bud during the following summer ; those failing by that process being grafted 

 in the ensuing spring. Sometimes the seedlings are planted in the first instance 

 in the working rows. This offers no advantage, but is a waste of ground, while the 

 roots are less fibrous, and a greater check is sustained by the trees in transplan- 

 tation after working. Good soil is necessary for stocks in order to secure free, clean, 

 yet sturdy growth. Grossness must not be sought by over-enrichment of the soil, 

 yet needful manuring is necessary, for stunted stocks give weakly trees. It is also 



important, in selecting seedlings for transplantation, to retain those only that present 



> 



a free, upright mode of growth, rejecting the crooked and ill-shaped. At all trans- 

 plantations the trees should be "sized," particularly at the final planting in rows, 

 each row having trees of equal size, those of a secondary or third degree of 

 strength doing better by themselves than if all were mixed. In order to obtain 



