184 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. 



dynamite in each hole, which will so loosen the soil that the roots 

 can penetrate it. In some locations, such treatment will make all 

 the difference between success and failure. 



Trees should be selected that are vigorous and healthy, with 

 plenty of strong roots. It is really of little importance what the 

 size or form of the top of the tree may be, provided it has good 

 roots and is healthy and free from blemishes; for, if vigorous, 

 the form of the top may be readily changed. The best trees are 

 those, not over four years old, that have made moderate but not 

 rapid growth in the nursery. Three-year-old trees, of most va- 

 rieties, are generally the best to set. Two-year-old trees do very 

 well and are often as good as any. One-year-old trees are too 

 small to conveniently cultivate around them in the field and are 

 better off in the nursery for another year. 



Seedlings. Apple seed grows readily and generally forms 

 plants about twelve inches high, with tap-roots of about the 

 same length, the first season. The seed does not reproduce in 

 quality the fruit it was taken from, and probably not one seedling 

 in a thousand is as good as any of the better cultivated kinds. 

 Seedlings, however, are raised in large quantities, to be used in 

 grafting and to increase the named varieties. Apple seed is gen- 

 erally obtained by washing out the pomace from cider mills. The 

 seeds are heavier than the pulp and are readily separated from it 

 by water. It is best not to allow the seed to get very dry after 

 cleaning, and on this account some growers prefer to sow it in 

 the fall shortly after cleaning, while others mix it with sand and 

 keep it buried in the ground until spring. If the seed gets very 

 dry it often fails to start, or does not start for one year, unless 

 scalded or mixed with moist sand and allowed to freeze and thaw 

 a few times. In a small way the seed may be kept mixed with 

 sand and buried in a box in the ground until spring, when it 

 should be put in a warm place until it starts into growth a little. 

 It should then be sown in drills three inches deep and about three 

 feet apart, in rich, warm soil, sowing about twenty seeds to the 

 foot. 



Root grafted trees should always be preferred to those that 

 are budded for severe sections, although in the case of hardy 

 trees that have already been root-grafted, budding is as good as 



