590 FUNDAMENTALS OF FRUIT PRODUCTION 



own. The lemon, for example, is reported in Australia'*" as inferior on 

 its own roots, being more susceptible to unfavorable soil moisture con- 

 ditions. The Vinifera grapes root readily from cuttings but the roots so 

 formed are subject to phylloxera infestation; recourse is therefore made to 

 grafting these grapes on resistant stocks which in turn are grown from 

 cuttings. The Oldenburg apple on its own roots appears decidedly 

 inferior, ^^•^ though Mcintosh and Stayman make notably fine growth on 

 their own roots. Sometimes when it would be desirable to have trees on 

 their roots their failure to root readily from cuttings makes the process im- 

 practicable. Many of the apples and plums that are extremely resistant 

 to cold winter weather form, if set deeply, roots from the cion that are 

 much hardier than those of the stocks commonly supplied. A method of 

 ready propagation by cuttings in such cases would be of great advantage. 

 To meet this difficulty special methods have been devised; these are dis- 

 cussed presently. To take advantage of the relative immunity of North- 

 ern Spy roots to the woolly aphis, Australian growers take considerable 

 pains to develop these roots, either by layering, stooling or grafting with a 

 "starter," and upon the Spy stock work the variety they wish to grow. 

 In some cases, then, fruit plants which grow readily from cuttings are 

 grafted on other stocks at greater expense; in other cases, plants which do 

 not form their own roots readily are induced to do so, though such plants 

 are more expensive. 



Objection is sometimes made to plants propagated by cuttings as 

 compared with those developed on seedlings, because of certain supposed 

 shortcomings. They are occasionally said to be shallow rooted ; Hatton,^° 

 however, states, regarding dwarf apple stocks: "We have found it just 

 as possible to raise stocks of deep anchorage by layers and other vegeta- 

 tive methods as it is easy to find shallow-rooted ones in any collection of 

 free stocks raised from pips." This supposed shallowness of the root 

 system was turned to account by the early Spanish settlers of Louisiana, 

 who propagated the peach by layering to suit it to alluvial lands where the 

 water table is high.^^^ Cock,^** writing on citrus fruits in Victoria, states 

 that layers and cuttings are always weak and more liable to disease than 

 seedlings. Macdonald,^"^ also in Victoria, writing of the olive, states: 

 "It is possible that, in poor soils or trying situations, the seedling may be 

 the more thrifty and long-lived tree, but experience in this country has not 

 gone to prove that this is the case. Many of the oldest trees in Australia 

 were raised from truncheons and are still doing well. However, their age 

 is comparative youth in the life of the olive tree, and perhaps it is as well 

 to accept the opinion of continental writers on the greater longevity of 

 seedling trees until there is greater evidence at hand to the contrary." 



In New South Wales seedling plums are considered to make better 

 root systems than cuttings.^ Grapes, gooseberries and currants have 

 passed through many generations of cuttings, without perceptible 



