HOW TO GET THE TREES 51 



trees is to set the buds on plum stocks. Almost 

 any species or variety of plum will answer, but 

 some are naturally much better than others. In 

 Europe the Myrobalan plum is chiefly used, al- 

 though St. Julien is sometimes recommended. Ex- 

 perience in this country shows that native Ameri- 

 can plums are usually much better adapted to this 

 purpose. The two best dwarf stocks are the native 

 American plum (Prunus americana) and the dwarf 

 Western Sand Cherry (Prunus besseyi). Further- 



LOW-HEADED TREES HALE ORCHARDS 



more, these are the stocks which it is easiest to buy 

 in a nursery. Peach buds are set upon such stocks 

 in precisely the same manner as upon peach stocks. 

 They grow very rapidly for the first year or two. 

 Sometimes their growth even outstrips that of sim- 

 ilar varieties on regular peach roots, and the gar- 

 dener begins to wonder whether he has not been 

 fooled on his dwarfing process. The second or third 

 year, however, the dwarfing shows itself unmistak- 



