FRUIT-GROWING AND PRESERVING. 53 



seed, and hence show an infinite variety and inequaUty, while 

 true crabs, which are the chance progeny of wildings, show as 

 great a variation as free stocks. Although vegetative propaga- 

 tion is a little more laborious and expensive than propagation 

 from seed, it is probably amply repaid by the certainty of 

 producing stocks true to type. From that point of view this 

 method is much to be preferred, provided a range of stocks 

 capable of vegetative propagation can be secured suitable for 

 all the needs of the fruit grower, and no deterioration occurs 

 as the result of such propagation continuously repeated. This 

 is the main problem which the East Malhng station has set 

 itself to solve, and already with considerable success. From 

 the vast array of Paradise stocks collected and examined at 

 the station it has been possible to make a classification into 

 four main groups (a) very dwarfing, (6) semi-dwarfing, (c) vigorous 

 and (d) very vigorous, which between them will, it is believed, 

 fulfill all the requirements of the apple-grower. It has been 

 shown that by " working " a single variety upon representatives 

 of these four groups, not only is it possible through root influence 

 practically to secure trees with double the vigour of others 

 of the same variety as demonstrated by wood growth, but also 

 to produce a remarkable change in the relation between wood 

 growth and blossoming. A single variety worked upon the 

 very dwarfing group has averaged one fruit bud to each 2 inches 

 of new wood growth, whilst at the other extreme the same 

 variety averaged one fruit bud to each i6 inches. The classifica- 

 tion has, of course, been based mainly on the experience gained 

 under the Mailing conditions of soil and climate, and must 

 be tried under other conditions before it can be put forth as of 

 general application. Duplicate trials have therefore been 

 planted out in Kent, Surrey and Sussex on five different types 

 of soil, and stocks have also been supplied to county experimental 

 stations. Agricultural Colleges, etc., in all parts of the country, 

 so that a thorough and exhaustive test of the results obtained 

 at East Mailing is in progress. 



WTiile East Mailing has been arriving at these conclusions, 

 via the Paradise stock route, Long Ashton in turn has reached 

 substantially the same point from the free and crab stock 

 direction, and it has been found that for general purposes 

 free and crab stocks can be graded into similar classes to 

 those already indicated for the Paradise forms. This grading 

 is, however, based mainly on a consideration of root growth, 

 and until further investigation has thrown more light on the 

 inter-relations between the root and branch systems of a tree, 

 it would be premature to suggest that on the basis of such classi- 



