122 



Lessons in Fruit Groioing. 



probably little worse in this respect than the raspberry. 

 The dwarf habit of our native species commends them for 

 cultivation in small grounds. Some foreign species attain 

 the size of small trees. 



182. Fruiting habit. The staminate flowers are produced 

 in catkins from the previous season's growth, and the pis- 

 tillate ones, which form a star-like tuft of crimson stigmas, 

 grow at the base of the catkins (Figs. 35, 36). The pistil- 

 late flowers sometimes bloom 

 later than the staminate ones on 

 the same plant, rendering it un- 

 fruitful unless pollen is received 

 from another plant. The hazel 

 commonly bears considerable 

 fruit the fifth or sixth year after 

 planting. 



183. Propagation and orchard 

 culture. In Europe, the hazel 

 is propagated by seed, layers, 

 suckers, cuttings and grafting. 

 Nursery plants are generally 

 grown from cuttings 8 to 10 

 inches long, from the previous 

 year's wood. If packed in moist 

 sand, the cuttings become well 

 rooted in one season, and can 



be transplanted to the nursery, (From Bailey's "Pruning Book. "> 



where, during the next two seasons, the plants are trained 

 to a single stem. 



The hazel thrives in nearly all soils except stiff clay or 

 dry sand. A light loam with dry subsoil gives the smallest 

 growth of wood and the largest yield of nuts. The trees 



Fio. 35, Fig. 



Fig. 35. Staminate flowers of 

 the hazel. 

 Fig. 36. Pistillate flowers. 



