Substitution of Varieties. 237 



be the best channels through whom small orders can 

 be secured by those who are uninformed in porno- 

 logical matters, all persons who expect to go into 

 fruit-growing seriously should buy directly of the 

 nurseries. But it must always be remembered that 

 the tree agent has been the means of clothing the 

 country with fruit trees, and of thereby adding much 

 to the contentment of farm life. 



The buyer should make up his mind just what 

 varieties he wants, and then find the nursery which 

 has them, and order early enough to get them. 

 There is then no occasion to consider the vexed ques- 

 tion of substitution of varieties. If the varieties are 

 not in market, buy stocks of some strong -growing, 

 staple variety, and after these are established usually 

 the spring or summer of the next year bud or graft 

 over the tops to the desired varieties. 



THE SETTING OF THE PLANTS. 



When to plant. There is much difference of 

 opinion as to the relative merits of fall and spring 

 planting. The writer's opinion is that fall planting 

 is generally preferable to spring planting upon thor- 

 oughly drained soils, particularly for the hardy tree 

 fruits, like apples, pears and plums ; and if the 

 ground is in good condition and the stock well ma- 

 tured, peaches can sometimes be set in October, even 

 in the northern states, with success. The advantages 

 of fall planting are several. The trees become estab- 

 lished during the open weather of fall, and they usu- 



