82 THE NEW HORTICULTURE. 



the trees are in full growth, is contrary to nature and common 

 sense, in that it, as well as fall, winter and early spring 

 stirring of the ground tends to break our trees' rest and 

 start a premature motion of the sap. 



These four fundamental principles of successful horticul- 

 ture are in perfect accordance with nature and experience, as 

 demonstrated by all forest trees, as well as old chance seed- 

 lings of all fruits everywhere, and constitute the "New Hor- 

 ticulture" I now advocate. To these four points, and my 

 internal theory of all species of tree bacteria, and the causes 

 of their development in the forms of yellows, blight, root- 

 tumor, scab, black-knot, etc., I invite the earnest attention of 

 fruit-growers everywhere, and a full, exhaustive, friendly crit- 

 icism. I am wedded to no theory, or bound by no prejudice, 

 but simply follow where I think truth points her finger. 



As to my theory of inherent bacteria, whether it be right 

 or wrong, it is a matter of small moment, provided I have 

 shown that a close root-pruned tree, if treated rationally, will 

 never afford the conditions for the development of any of 

 those bacterial diseases, and in this I think I have succeeded. 

 And now to the first cause, which I claim to be a radically 

 wrong form of tree when set. 



THE REVOLUTION IN TREE PLANTING. It is about eight 

 years since I first announced in Farm and Ranch that the 

 theory and practice of tree planting, as handed down from 

 time immemorial, was wrong, and that, instead of the more 

 roots a tree has when reset the better, the very opposite was 

 true. I then gave a full history of how I happened to hit 

 upon this truth, as well as a detailed account of various ex- 

 periments upon a great many kinds of fruit and shade trees, 

 that demonstrated beyond all doubt the truth of my state- 

 ment. I also adduced many isolated facts from the experi- 

 ence of others going to corroborate my own. 



So absurd did the idea of cutting off all the roots of a 

 tree seem even to very many prominent horticulturists, that 

 though I then wrote to quite a number all over the country, 

 the invariable answer was : " While such treatment may suc- 

 ceed with you, it would be out of the question here." The 



