44 THE HOME ACRE. 



stunted. Also require that there should be an 

 abundance of fibrous and unmutilated roots. 



Because the young trees come from the nursery 

 unpruned, do not leave them in that condition. 

 Before planting, or immediately after, cut back all 

 the branches at least one-half; and where they 

 are too thick, cut out some altogether. In re- 

 moval the tree has lost much of its root power, 

 and it is absurd to expect it to provide for just as 

 much top as before. 



In many books on fruit-culture much space has 

 been given to dwarf pears, apples, and cherries, and 

 trees of this character were planted much more 

 largely some years ago than they are at present. 

 The pear is dwarfed by grafting it on the quince ; 

 the apple can be limited to a mere garden fruit- 

 tree in size by being grown on a Doucin stock, or 

 even reduced to the size of a bush if compelled to 

 draw its life through the roots of the Paradise. 

 These two named stocks, much employed by 

 European nurserymen, are distinct species of 

 apples, and reproduce themselves without varia- 

 tion from the seed. The cherry is dwarfed by 

 being worked on the Mahaleb, a small, handsome 

 tree, with glossy, deep-green foliage, much culti- 

 vated abroad as an ornament of lawns. Except 

 in the hands of practised gardeners, trees thus 

 dwarfed are seldom satisfactory, for much skill 



