PROPAGATION OF STOCKS. 129 



sible, with a small portion attached, prepared as directed 

 in article on cuttings, early in the winter, and kept in pits 

 two or three feet below the surface of the soil, in a dry 

 place, until planting time, in spring. If practicable, plant 

 early in the fall, as soon as the wood is ripe, and cover 

 with leaves on setting in of winter, to prevent hard freez- 

 ing ; success will be more certain. They should be plant- 

 ed in a light) friable, deep soil, in rows eighteen inches to 

 two feet apart, four to six inches apart in the row, and so 

 deep that but a couple of buds remain above the surface. 

 The ground should be kept clean and mellow amongst 

 them all summer, and, if the cuttings were stout and long, 

 they will, in the autumn, be fit for taking up and prepar- 

 ing for planting into nursery rows the following spring. 

 The best and surest method of propagating the quince 

 stock, however, is by layers. The manner of layering is 

 that recommended for the Doucin and Paradise by 

 earthing up (fig. 65). The stool plants should be set out 

 in a fine, rich, deep border of warm, friable soil, and be 

 about six feet apart, when designed to be permanent. As 

 each stool, by the system recommended, can only yield a 

 crop of plants every two years, there should be two sets, 

 so that an annual supply may be obtained. These stools, 

 in spite of the best treatment, become enfeebled in a few 

 years, and successive plantations must be made where 

 continual propagation is intended. 



By the ordinary system of bending down the shoots, 

 and slitting, or even without the slitting, a crop may be 

 obtained every year that is, the shoots of the current 

 season's growth may be layered in July or August ; but 

 no such stocks can be obtained as by the earthing up and 

 taking a crop every two years. This is the system recom- 

 mended to those who want first-rate quince stocks. 



The very general lack of information in this country on 

 the subject of quince stocks for pears has given rise to a 

 great many misapprehensions and erroneous statements in 

 6* 



