166 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



grower, in the past, has not concerned himself with the individuality 

 of the stock from which the nursery trees are propagated. His 

 highest ideal is a big, well-grown tree, straight in body, well branched, 

 and well rooted. The two ideals have, therefore, been harmonious. 



But progressive fruit growers, and some nurserymen, are be- 

 ginning to pay attention to the character of the parentage of nursery 

 stock. The Baldwins and Elbertas in the same orchards differ in 

 size, productiveness, color, form, keeping quality, and relative im- 

 munity from disease. In fact, no two trees of a variety are exactly 

 alike, and among the individuals or buds of which the treetop is 

 composed there is also more or less variation. Sometimes the fruit 

 or foliage on a branch is so unlike the rest of the tree that a new 

 variety is introduced by propagating from it. These strongly 

 marked variations are known as "sports," and the Pierce grape, the 

 Banks apple, and the Delaware (Cannon's Early} peach are sport 

 varieties that appeared on branches of the Isabella, Gravenstein, and 

 Mountain Rose, respectively. 



It has been assumed that the smaller variations of a variety, 

 such as more productive individual trees, larger or more highly 

 colored fruit, or more vigorous foliage, are likewise transmissible. 

 There is little doubt that permanent variations in a tree, no matter 

 how small, may be transmitted by budding or grafting, but a prac- 

 tical difficulty lies in determining whether a variation is inherent 

 or incidental to the food supply or other surroundings of the tree or 

 branch. A well-fed, properly pruned, and carefully tilled and 

 sprayed tree has larger foliage, is more vigorous, and produces better 

 fruit than a neglected tree. But there is no reason to expect a trans- 

 mission of these superior qualities in full degree, unless the descend- 

 ants are surrounded with an equally favorable environment. 



The stability of a variation can be determined only by comparing 

 it for several years with other trees growing under similar conditions. 

 If the tree or any of its branches persists in producing fruit or foliage 

 of particular merit, or if the bearing habit is more regular, it is 

 highly desirable to propagate the variety from such trees or branches. 

 There have been no accurate or long-continued experiments in propa- 

 gating fruits from trees of superior merit. The effort, however, to 

 propagate only from the best is based upon sound principles of plant 

 improvement, and is to be strongly encouraged. 



Top working may therefore be used by the fruit grower to per- 

 petuate desirable staple variations. The variety may be budded or 

 grafted on a desirable stock after the trees are established in the or- 

 chard. Similar results may be brought about by the nurserymen by 

 propagating only from specially selected buds, but the cost of growing 

 the trees will be greater, and they will need to be sold at a higher 

 price. 



Bearing Age of Young Top-Worked Trees. Scions inserted on 

 old trees bear at an early age, but it is uncertain whether the fruiting 

 of scions grafted on a young tree is accelerated. Young trees, how- 

 ever, top-worked with buds from bearing trees, will bear a year or 

 two earlier than trees propagated with buds from nursery stock, but 



