34 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



are gentlemen who have succeeded with Western trees. It is 

 well known to some gentlemen here that I live on a hill. 

 The soil is remarkably good. It is well adapted to the growth 

 of anything, — apples, pears, peaches, or anything else. But, 

 as the result of my experience, I advise any gentleman who 

 is about to purchase trees, to be sure to procure those that 

 were matured in New England soil, on New England roots. 



Mr. Ware. I do not feel prepared to auswer the question 

 that has been propounded to my own satisfaction ; but I will 

 state one fact, which, perhaps, may draw out the information 

 desired, because this is rather an important question. I 

 remember that my father — whose advice and instruction in 

 regard to agriculture and orchard-culture I have ever found 

 valuable — said, "Never graft a sprout that comes up from the 

 root of a tree, for it will not make a good tree, and it will 

 continue to throw up sprouts, instead of throwing its strength 

 into the graft that you put in." Now, it has occurred to me, 

 whether or no the gentleman's trees, that he has spoken of, 

 may not have been grafted upon sprouts that had grown up 

 from the roots of pear-trees. I know that nurserymen — and 

 there are some here present — will say, that it would be foolish 

 to do such a thing as that, because it is so easy to get stalks 

 to graft into. That is true ; but there are times — I have seen 

 them myself — when there have been such thrifty and vigorous 

 sprouts coming up under the trees, that the temptation has 

 been very great to take those sprouts and set them out, and 

 graft them, or graft them in the place where they were, think- 

 ing to gain time by it. Whether or no those trees were prop- 

 agated in that way, the gentleman may be unable to answer ; 

 but perhaps some person present may have had experience in 

 that direction, and, if so, it might be the means of establish- 

 ing a certain principle, or fact, if it can be so established. 



Mr. Howe. Of course, I cannot answer the question, 

 whether they were, or were not, grafted on sprouts ; but I 

 had those trees from a gentleman in my own neighborhood, a 

 man with whom I was well acquainted, who told me — and, of 

 course, I had no reason to doubt it — that he went himself and 

 selected those trees, and knew that they were budded from the 

 root. Some of them were dwarfs and some standards, and I can 

 show you to-day, on my place, the dwarfs and the standards, 



