Amtiiorntion of our edible Fruits. 203 



upon a more deliberate survey, would be found worthy of 

 notice. 



Aimist 18. 1836. 



Art. III. Suggesiions relative to the Amelioration of our edible 

 Fruits xvith more Certaintij than has hitherto been done ; with some 

 preliminary Observations on Grafting, Disbudding, Sfc. By D. 

 Beaton. 



Shoots of apple or pear trees, or, indeed, shoots of any tree 

 of more than one year's growth, may be grafted from February 

 to August, first divesting them of their leaves and the young 

 wood of this season's growth. Oak shoots, three years old, may 

 be readily grafted about the end of May, when prepared in this 

 manner. I believe Mr. Knight is the author of this system, 

 having grafted some walnuts according to it. I have grafted 

 fruit trees for experiment in this way, in every month of the 

 summer, and also seen the oak so grafted ; but one year's growth 

 will not succeed. Another peculiarity of one-year-old wood is, 

 if you cut out the buds of last summer's growth in the winter 

 or spring, leaving only the bud at the extremity for extension, 

 the part so disbudded will not form latent or adventitious buds. 

 If, after following this system of disbudding for a few years, you 

 cut out the bud at the extremity, the shoot will die down to 

 where you first disbudded it, although it were the leading shoot 

 of the strongest inhabitant of the forest. 



Again, a growing shoot, although divested of its leaves as 

 soon as they are unfolded, will grow as fast, and increase as 

 much in diameter, as another shoot with its leaves in full opera- 

 tion, other circumstances being the same ; but, if you continue 

 disleafing the second season, there will hardly be any addition 

 to the diameter of the shoot. Disbudding in this manner the 

 summer's shoots, as they proceed in growth, is the simplest mode 

 I know of for reducing the strength of an over-luxuriant tree. 

 As little or none of the sap taken up by such shoots is elaborated, 

 it is entirely lost to the general secretion of the parent tree. By 

 this method I have, in three years, reduced healthy vigorous 

 young pear trees to the point of starvation. I have now several 

 such trees, on free stocks, and in good rich soil, without more 

 than a dozen of wood buds on a tree, the size of the trees being 

 from 5 ft. to 7 ft. high, and from 4 ft. to 6 ft. in diameter at the 

 lowest branches. When a tree fills the space allotted to it against 

 a wall, and shows a disposition to still further growth, by throw- 

 ing up strong vertical shoots above the v.'all, and luxuriant breast 

 wood on the main boughs, instead of checking this disposition 

 by any mode of j)runing or training, I assist the tree to throw 

 off the superabundant sap by disleafing the breast wood and 



