CHAPTER X. 



PROPAGATION OF FRUIT PLANTS. 



Our cultivated fruits, with a few unimportant exceptions, 

 do not come true from seed, and hence, must be increased by 

 division. The various ways in which seed enters into the sub- 

 ject of the propagation of fruits are as follows: 



Propagation by Seed. 



(1). Seed is used for the growing of stocks on which to 

 work (i. e., graft or bud) cultivated fruits such as apples, pears, 

 plums, peaches and others. 



(2). Seed is used for growing a few varieties of the peach 

 and strawberry that come nearly true from seed, such as the 

 Alpine and St. Anthony de Padua strawberries and, in the case 

 of the peach, for a large number of varieties which come suffi- 

 ciently true to name for home use. 



Some of the conditions which influence germination of such 

 seeds are as follows: 



(a) Seeds of many species which ripen in the early sum- 

 mer, such as those of the strawberry, gooseberry and raspberry, 

 if sown at once, will start quickly. Seedlings of such kinds 

 should be wintered over in a cold frame, greenhouse or cold 

 cellar. If the seed is dried it should be stratified towards the 

 end of winter and frozen and sown in the spring. In the case 

 of the raspberry and gooseberry, the seedlings are so small 

 at the end of the first season, if the seed is sown as soon as 

 ripe, that it is generally best to dry it and sow the following 

 spring. 



(b) Seeds that ripen in late summer should be stratified 

 and sown the following spring. 



(c) Stratification refers to the mixing of seeds with soil 

 or other material and burying out of doors. It is a common and 

 very safe way of keeping over winter such seeds as those of 

 the peach, plum, apricot, nuts and many forest tree seeds. All 

 of our hardy seeds may be treated in this way successfully. In 

 practice the seeds are mixed generally in sand, but sometimes 



