THE ROOT SYSTEMS OF FRUIT PLANTS 585 



ists in this locality, because trees certainly do better in every way on that 

 stock. They sprout less from the root, are longer-lived, and generally 

 more vigorous than when on Myrobolan stocks. We occasionally plant 

 some St. Julien seedlings, but do not make a practice of it, because 

 in the first place St. Julien seedlings cost more than double the price of 

 Myrobolans, and they are not as thrifty the first year they are trans- 

 planted. They also are attacked by a fungus which causes them to lose 

 their leaves early in the summer, thus preventing the budding of the 

 stocks altogether, or a partial failure in the buds when this leaf fungus is 

 not corrected. Of course, when taken in time we can in a large measure 

 prevent this falling of the leaves by spraying with Bordeaux mixture, but 

 taking all things into consideration, it is quite a bit more expensive to 

 raise plums on St. Julien stock, and we find that we cannot get any more 

 for them in the open market, so that we have become discouraged growing 

 stocks on the St. Julien root." Hedrick quotes J. W. Kerr of Maryland 

 to the effect that though for that section he prefers the peach as a stock 

 for the Domestica plums, there are many varieties of this species that 

 will not form a good union with the peach and in these cases he is forced 

 to use Marianna or Myrobolan stock. 



Growers of Vinifera grapes have found that no one stock is suitable 

 to all conditions. Cuttings of a given species may not root freely and 

 it is eliminated from the list of available stocks, no matter how resistant 

 it may be to phylloxera or how desirable in other respects. Another 

 species or variety may not give a large percentage of successes in bench 

 grafting and the establishment of a vineyard on this stock becomes a 

 matter of more labor and greater expense. 



Dawson^^ gives the scarcity of seed as the chief reason against the 

 employment of Pyrus hetulafolia which he states would be a very satisfac- 

 tory stock for pears on dry soil. 



The Mazzard stock for cherries is preferred by growers in some sec- 

 tions, but nurserymen have rather forced the use of Mahaleb. The 

 Mazzard has several features which make it rather unsatisfactory for the 

 nurseryman; one of these is its sensitiveness to weather conditions in 

 the nursery row so that though buds may take readily one season the 

 following year may give entirely unsatisfactory results, or the budding 

 season may close abruptly before the work is complete. ^^ 



Enough evidence" has been introduced to show that the best stock for 

 the nurseryman, under existing circumstances, is not always best for the 

 grower. The responsibility, however, rests with the grower. When he 

 is so convinced of the superiority of a given stock that he is willing to pay 

 the price for it, the nurseryman will produce trees on that stock. Until 

 the grower realizes that the best stock in the orchard may not be the 

 best stock in the nursery or vice versa the nurseryman can do only as he 

 has been doing. 



