28O PLANT PROPAGATION 



leaves are forced to develop other leaves higher up, thus 

 tending- to make top-heavy, weak, spindling trunks. 



Cutting off undesirable shoots on the trunk shortly 

 after midsummer is a very different thing. By that time 

 they will have fulfilled at least a large part of their func- 

 tion and can thus be spared with less disadvantage to the 

 appearance and the well-being of the trees. Moreover, 

 their removal at that time will not usually force extra top 

 growth, because the trees will be busy ripening up the 

 wood they formed quickly in the first half of the season 

 when moisture was more abundant in the soil and condi- 

 tions better favored quick development of wood. 



If the cuts, in removing the undesirable twigs men- 

 tioned, are made with a sharp knife close to the trunk, 

 they will heal over by October. When the cutting is 

 over the fewest number of leaves on trunk and branches 

 should be sacrificed. 



377. Cost of nursery stock. Prices of nursery stock 

 vary almost as greatly as do the catalogs. Cultivation, 

 fertilization, spraying, trimming, training, root pruning, 

 method of digging and packing, age and size of tree, and 

 a dozen other factors influence price. The cost of speci- 

 mens should always be reckoned on the basis of quality. 

 Often a high-priced tree is cheap at its price, and often a 

 low-priced tree is expensive even as a gift. The initial 

 cost is in most cases a mere trifle when compared to the 

 after value of the specimen as a producer of fruit or 

 beauty. Far better estimate the nurseryman and his 

 business methods than compare or contrast his prices 

 with those of his competitors. Such factors as trueness 

 to name, plumpness and quantity of roots, and thorough- 

 ness of packing are beyond price. 



378. Buying and handling nursery SIOCK.* In ordering 

 one should emphasize especially the necessity of trees 

 being true to name, thoroughly healthy, properly mature, 

 and full of life. By the last is meant they should be dor- 



*Synopsis of article in Pennsylvania Station Bulletin by J. P. Stewart. 



