Ill 



PROPAGATION 



THE propagation of dwarf fruit trees is in some 

 senses a more critical and interesting problem than the 

 propagation of ordinary nursery stock. The success- 

 ful production of a dwarf fruit tree depends primarily 

 on its propagation. The selection of stocks for dwarf- 

 ing purposes is necessarily a complicated matter. 

 Under the terms of the problem it is impossible that 

 the stock and the cion which are wedded together 

 should be very closely related. The stock must be 

 distinctly different and pronouncedly dwarfer in his 

 habit of growth. 



It is not always an easy matter to find a stock 

 which is thus distinctly different from the tree which 

 it is desired to grow and which will at the same time 

 form with it a vigorous and long lived union. It is 

 necessary further that the propagation can be carried 

 on with ease and with a fair degree of success in com- 

 mercial nurseries. If difficult methods of grafting 

 are required, or if only a small stand of nursery trees 

 can be secured, the undertaking becomes too expen- 

 sive from the nurseryman's point of view. 



The methods of propagating dwarf trees are for the 

 most part the same as those used in reproducing the 

 same kinds of fruit on standard stocks. As a matter 

 of fact nearly all dwarf trees are propagated by bud- 

 ding. Apples, pears, and plums can be readily grafted, 



