FRUIT STOCKS 137 



gent. Mahaleb, therefore, differs widely from both the sweet and 

 the sour Cherry. It is propagated mostly by seed, but may be in- 

 creased by cuttings and suckers. It is much easier to get a good 

 looking tree when Mahaleb is used because it is adapted to a great 

 range of soils; more resistant to heat and cold; less particular about 

 cultivation; will stand more pruning in the nursery; is less susceptible 

 to aphis; is usually not so susceptible to the shot-hole fungus, and 

 is more easily budded. Cherries on Mahaleb ripen their wood 

 earlier and may be dug earlier; and they are hardier for the same 

 reason. Sweet Cherries should be grown on Mazzard stock; the 

 Mahaleb budded sorts are dwarf growing and varieties come into 

 bearing earlier, although the size of Cherries is the same. Better 

 unions are made on the Mazzard. The Mahaleb thrives on a greater 

 variety of soils. The varieties on Mazzard are more productive 

 and profitable than on Mahaleb. 



Cherries are usually budded, but they may be successfully 

 grafted upon seedling roots. When planted deep enough the cion 

 takes root and the variety is then upon its own roots. 



PEACHES 



Much of our Peach stock is home grown. The pits or stones are 

 gathered from the wild Peaches in the mountains of Tennessee and 

 the Carolinas. The seeds collected at canneries are thought to 

 produce short lived trees. Peach seed may be sown in flats of a 

 sandy soil and exposed to the Winter frosts or they may be placed 

 in pits, mere holes dug in the soil, in which the stones may be kept 

 moist and to which the frost may enter. Peaches are usually 

 budded, although some growers report success in grafting them. 



In the South, Peaches are June budded but in the North budding 

 is practiced in August or September. (See page 123.) 



In selecting bud-wood, care must be exercised that mature buds 

 are used; there are usually two or three immature buds at the 

 ends of the branches. The current year's growth also has two 

 sorts of buds, branch buds* and fruit buds; branch buds must be 

 used as the fruit buds merely flower and are gone, while branch 

 buds grow to make the top of the tree. The fruit buds are fre- 

 quently found on each side of the branch bud ; they may be broken 

 off, as they are of no use. When only one bud is found in the axil 

 of the leaf it is generally a branch bud. 



*Branch buds are frequently called leaf buds but this is an incorrect term because 

 each bud of this sort produces branches. 



