FRUITS. 513 



ground a good deep hoeing, which will make it level and smooth 

 enough. 



GROWING APPLES IN THE NURSERY ROW. 



In every kind of business there is a right way and a wrong 

 way. This is as true in the growing of apple trees as it is in 

 any other business process. My aim shall be to outline the 

 right way. 



Seed. This may be procured from cider mills in the fall, and 

 kept until about the first of January, when it should be mixed with 

 sand and placed where it will freeze. If it can be kept frozen 

 solid till planting time, it will be all the better for it ; but if not, 

 it must be shovelled over once a day after thawing out, to prevent 

 heating and subsequent destruction of the seed. 



Growing the Seedlings. Ground should be ploughed about 

 eight inches deep, and subsoiled in the bottom of this furrow to 

 a further depth of about nine inches. At least seventeen inches 

 of mellow soil are needed to grow the proper length of root in an 

 apple seedling. A number one apple seedling root is from eight 

 to fifteen inches long, and in hard ground the roots branch so 

 much that they are of little use for grafting. For budding, 

 however, the branched root is preferred, as it is likely to grow 

 faster. In the fall the seedlings should be taken up and stored 

 in a cellar, out of danger from heat or frost, until the time for 

 grafting. 



Grafting. Scions should be cut in November, or early in 

 December, before the arrival of cold weather, and packed in 

 sawdust in the cellar. The time for grafting will depend mainly 

 on the amount of help and the quantity of work to be done. It 

 can be done at any time during late winter and early spring. 

 For grafting, the roots of seedlings are cut into sections about 

 four inches long, and the scions into pieces of about the same 

 length. The upper end of the section of root is cut smooth and 

 sloping, and the lower end of the scion is cut at about the same 

 angle. In each of these bevelled ends a tongue is cut, so that 

 when the cut surfaces of the root and scion are in contact these 

 tongues shall hold them firmly together. The secret of success 

 in this operation is to secure an intimate contact of the cambium 

 layer or inner bark of root and scion. Without this no union 



