J76 AP 



dry sand till March, then sowed in rich, well-broken 

 soil, in drills an inch and a half deep. When the 

 seedlings are two inches high, they are thinned, kept 

 free from weeds, and transplanted at the end of the 

 second year into nursery rows, thirty inches apart, 

 and at eighteen-inch distances plant from plant, there 

 to stand till they are fit to receive grafts. 



According to the management they receive, or to 

 the suitableness of the soil on which they are grown, 

 stocks may be ready for the graft in the second or 

 third year after being planted out. In the next season 

 after the operation of grafting is perfornicd.it should 

 be determined for what purpose and in what form the 

 young tree is wanted. Apple-trees are required for 

 walls, or espaliers, or for dwarf standards. For all 

 these purposes the graft should be inserted as close 

 to the ground as possible ; and this to allow the pro- 

 duction of branches below, in order that the trainer 

 may have a choice to give the tree the required form. 

 But for orchard planting tall standards are requisite, 

 in order that the branches may be out of the reach 

 of cattle, or not encumber the surface where under- 

 crops are raised. For this purpose the nursery 

 practice is to choose the leading shoot of the graft, 

 pruning off all laterals, and leading this upright with 

 a clear stem, and only stopping or beheading it when 

 it has risen six feet and a half or seven feet high. At 

 this height the tree is permitted to branch out with 

 three, four, or more arms as the manager thinks best. 

 Obtaining a like length of clear stem is sometimes 

 accomplished in another way ; stocks are trained 

 upright, and the graft or bud is afterwards put in 

 at the proper height. This is often done in the case 

 of plums or cherries, where tall stocks can be drawn 

 from the woods in the neighbourhood. 



A fresh, loamy, well-trenched soil is most suitable 

 to the apple when planted in an orchard ; no pruning 

 is required after the first and second year, and then 

 only to regulate the first branching. In such situa- 

 tion the trees are required to grow to their natural 

 size as soon as possible ; and they will, without 

 assistance, assume their specific form. But when 

 introduced into a garden, and where they are com- 

 pelled to take some unnatural shape, or be cramped 

 in a limited space, no fruit tree requires more atten- 

 tion from the manager than the apple. In its utmost 

 volume it is only a small tree ; but when trained to 

 a wall or espalier, or confined to the form of a bush 

 on a narrow border, no tree struggles more to fly 

 away from the artificial form imposed. Hence mucn 

 pruning is required to keep it symmetrical ; and 

 so sure and so long as this struggle continues, few 

 fruit will be seen. And the reason is, the tree is in 

 * constant state of barren excitement. The fructi- 

 ferous gems inherent in the system require to be 

 moderately developed. In their progress from inci- 

 pient existence in the bosom of a bud, until they are 

 mature as a visible flower-bud, the process must be 

 slow ; otherwise strong flowerless shoots will only be 

 put forth instead of flowers. And these strong shoots 

 producing irregularity, and an appearance of wildness, 

 must be pruned avVay only to excite a new growth 

 of others of the same kind to come forth. Thus a 

 tree so managed can neither be kept in a neat form 

 or be at all fruitful. What adds to this luxuriance 

 is, that while the head is annually reduced, the roots 

 are annually extending ; and instead of these two 

 principal parts being equally balanced (as they 

 always are in a natural state of a tree), they are not 



PLE. 



so ; but, like a basket-maker's willow, the more it is 

 cut the more it grows. 



But this state of an apple-tree is not necessarily 

 so by skilful treatment the tree may be so managed 

 as that not only moderate, but even diminutive 

 growth may be induced, and therein' gain not only 

 the desired form in a small space, but, when the 

 seasons allow, abundant fertility. 



The whole secret lies in preventing unnecessary 

 growth. Instead of allowing a tree to bring forth a 

 great number of rampant shoots, which must ulti- 

 mately be cut away, stop every excess of the kind. 

 Every bud threatening to push in a wrong place, 

 should be rubbed off; and every shoot not wanted 

 to complete the form, should be stopped when not 

 more than three inches long. The month of May is 

 the proper time for this indispensable work in the 

 garden ; sooner or later, however, according to the 

 season. By stopping all the unnecessary growth of 

 the head, the roots are also moderated, and send up 

 no more nutriment than what is absolutely necessary 

 for the demands of the head : thus inducing an 

 equable condition of the system, producing the 

 desired results. Moderate growth induces the 

 maturation of flower-buds ; and though these may 

 become too numerous for the strength of the tree, it 

 need not suffer, while thinning the flowers and fruit 

 is so easy a task. 



There are other modes of checking the too luxu- 

 riant growth of a tree sometimes had recourse to by 

 orchardists : viz. taking up and immediately planting 

 it in the same place ; or cutting out a hoop of the 

 bark of the stem to partially stop the ascent of the 

 sap; or, which has a similar effect, t \ing a band of 

 tape or string very tightly round the stem to produce 

 strangulation. These expedients may answer the 

 purpose ; but the most natural is disbudding. 



Apple-trees may be unproductive and unthrifty 

 through extreme weakness. This is often witnessed 

 in old orchards, or in the case of very old trees ; and 

 is usually attributed to the cold wetness of the subsoil. 

 If the stem be not hollow, the tree may be renovated 

 by digging-in fresh soil, or well rotted manure, about 

 the roots to a considerable distance round the trunk ; 

 and by scraping or drawshaving off all the dead 

 outside bark (even down to the liber) from the stem 

 and large-branches ; or, as a last resource, taking off 

 the head of the tree altogether, to cause the produc- 

 tion of a new set of branches. Such treatmeirt may 

 be worth the trouble to save the life of an old fa- 

 vourite; but planting young trees to succeed the 

 old is the best management. 



The following are a few of the most esteemed 

 sorts : 



For the table. White Astracan ; Beachamwell; 

 Borsdoffer ; Borovitsky ; Breedon pippin ; Bringe- 

 wood pippin ; white Calville ; Cambusrethan pippin ; 

 Cockle pippin ; cole, or searlet perfume ; court pendu 

 plat; court of Wick; Downton ; Dutch mignonne; 

 Essex pippin ; Cornish gillyflower ; golden drop ; 

 golden Harvey ; golden pippin ; Grise ; Ingestrie ; 

 Juncating, red and white ; Margil ; Newtowu pip- 

 pin ; nonpareil ; Oslin ; scarlet and winter pearmain , 

 pomeroy ; golden rennette. 



For the kitchen. Baldwin's Suffolk Beaufin ; belle 

 bonne ; burr knot ; Caroline ; Carlisle codlin ; Dutch 

 codlin, English codlin ; Fearn's pippin ; gloria mundi ; 

 Gravenstein ; Havvthornden ; Lucombe's seedling ; 

 Mirishal crab ; royal russet. 



