330 



HOW TO GROW GOOD ORCHARDS. 



form of a ball, and in cases where every care is taken 

 the graft may be further protected 

 by a wicker basket, as in the dia- 

 gram. 



Cutting. — The ease with which 

 apple trees can be multiplied by 

 cuttings was forcibly impressed 

 upon our attention at a very early 

 age. When a boy, having seen a 

 most promising branch cut from a 

 favourite apple tree in the process 

 of pruning, the thought struck us 

 that we might get a tree of our 

 own, and so, seizing the branch in 

 question, we planted it in another 

 part of the garden, only — sad to 

 relate — to have it pulled up the 

 first time the gardener passed that 

 way. With a boy's perseverance 

 or obstinacy — which the reader 

 pleases — again and again did we 

 replant this same branch with a like result, until 

 finding a quiet corner, we once more planted our 

 cutting, and this time, no evil chance overtaking 

 it, it took root ; and in two years from that time we 

 enjoyed the taste of apples from what, we hope 

 not undeservedly, was allowed to be considered our 

 own tree. This was a matter for frequent reflection 

 in after-life, for, besides viewing the result as 

 a reward for perseverance, it is just possible that our 

 first disappointment may have tended after all to 

 our success, for doubtless the unexposed sheltered 

 corner was just the place for ensuring this in rooting 



Graft protected by a 

 Wicker basket. 



