62 MANUAL OF GENEBAL AGBICULTURT1. 



57. ESTABLISHING A DECIDUOUS ORCHARD. 



The operations involved in the establishment of a de- 

 ciduous orchard are as follows : 



1. Collection of Seed. When seeds are to be col- 

 lected on a large scale it is usual to get them from some 

 cannery, but when only a few are desired they may be 

 obtained in any convenient manner. As seeds planted 

 seldom come true to types, all plantings of seed must be 

 made with the knowledge of the kind of scions that are 

 to be grafted or buds to be budded on the young seed- 

 lings. For instance, it is customary to make combinations 

 about as follows : Peach budded on peach, preferably on 

 strong growing yellow peach seedling. Pear, budded or 

 grafted on pear, preferably on Keiffer pear. Apple 

 grafted on apple. By root grafting onto roots of the 

 Northern Spy apple, trees obtained are said to be immune 

 from attacks of the Woolly Aphis. Plum or prune budded 

 on peach in moist, sandy loam soils. Plum budded on 

 Myrobolan when subject to overflow, standing water, or 

 on heavy soil. Apricot, same as plum. Walnut grafted 

 on California black walnut. Quince, olive and fig are 

 grown from cuttings. 



After the seeds are collected keep them in a cool dry 

 place, but not in an air-tight receptacle. Obtain at least 

 five seeds of each fruit to be propagated and ten of the 

 smaller kinds as they are more likely to be lost. 



2. Stratification of Seed. In January obtain some 

 cheesecloth and cut into squares of about a foot em-'!. 

 making twice as many squares as you have sets of seeds. 

 Moisten all the cloths with water. Take the seeds pre- 

 viously collected and select a spot in the garden, prefer- 

 ably one in sandy soil. Dig a hole a foot square and a foot 

 deep. In the bottom spread out one of the cloths and place 

 on it any set of seeds; then over them place another cloth 

 and two inches of soil. Place another cloth, seeds, cloth, 

 and soil, in the same way until all the seeds have been 

 stratified. Record in your note book the various strata. 

 Of course if there are more than five sets of seeds to be 

 stratified the hole must be deeper than a foot or prefera- 



