Il6 THE NURSERY-BOOK. 



Apple (Pyrus Mains]. Rosacece. 



Standard apple stocks are grown from seeds, and dwarf 

 stocks from layers. Apple seeds are either imported from 

 France or are obtained from pomace. The French seeds 

 give what are technically known as crab stocks, the word crab 

 being used in the sense of a wild or inferior, apple. The 

 yearling stocks themselves are imported from France in 

 great numbers. It has been supposed that French crab 

 stocks are hardier and more vigorous than ours, but this 

 opinion is much less common than formerly, and the foreign 

 stocks are not so popular now as the domestic stocks. 



The chief source of apple seeds at the present time is the 

 pomace from cider mills. The "cheese" of pomace is 

 broken up, and if the material is dry enough it may be run 

 through a large sieve to remove the coarser parts. The 

 seeds are then removed by washing. Various devices are in 

 use for washing them out. They all proceed upon the fact 

 that the pomace will rise in water and the seeds sink. Some 

 use a tub or common tank, which is tilted a little to allow the 

 water to flow over the side. Others employ boxes some 

 seven or eight feet long, four feet wide and a foot deep, the 

 lower end of which is only eleven inches deep to allow the 

 escape of the water. This box is set upon benches, and a 

 good stream of water is carried into it at the upper end. A 

 bushel or two of pomace is emptied in at a time, and it is 

 broken and stirred with a fork or shovel. When the seeds 

 are liberated they fall to the bottom and the refuse runs 

 over the lower end. Another box is provided with several 

 cleats, at intervals of about a foot, and the ends are left 

 open. The box is set at an angle, and the seeds are caught 

 behind the cleats. Seeds must not stand long in the pomace 

 pile, or they will be seriously injured. Nurserymen like to 

 secure the pomace as soon as it is taken from the press. 



As soon as the seeds are collected, they should be spread 

 upon tables or boards, and should be frequently turned 

 until perfectly dry. They may then be stored in boxes in 

 slightly damp sand or sawdust, or in powdered charcoal and 

 kept in a cool and dry place until spring. Or if they are to 

 be sown immediately they need not be dried, but simply 

 mixed with enough dry sand to absorb the water so as to 

 make them easy to handle Seeds should not be allowed to 

 become hard and dry through long exposure to the air, or 

 they will germinate unevenly. Apple seeds procured at the 

 seed stores are often worthless because of this neglect. Very 

 dry seeds can sometimes be grown, however, by subjecting 

 them to repeated soakings and then sprouting in a gentle hot- 



