49 2 GENERAL REVIEW. 



where manure is abundantly used as top-dressing, nothing can 

 excel them in producing early and regular fruitfulness. 



M. Decaisne (* Jour. Royal Hort. Soc.,' vol. ii. (new series), 

 1870, p. 55), in an interesting paper on the "Paradise Apple," 

 says : " There have been no important and comparative ex- 

 periments whatever on the grafting of the Apple or of the Pear. 

 All that has been done in this direction has been confined to 

 individual observation, the results of which have been taken as 

 proved without verification." 



In the nurseries of Germany and France, Pears and Apples 

 sown for stock are mixed together ; and everybody who tries it 

 will find that both, but especially the Pear stocks, grow much 

 better and more vigorous that way than by themselves. 



The Apple may be grafted or shield-budded like the Pear, 

 and the grafts should be gone over a fortnight or three weeks 

 after the operation, and those that have failed may be replaced 

 either by grafts or buds. The ornamental-flowering forms of 

 Pyrus spectabilis or " Chinese Apple," and others, may also be 

 propagated by grafting on common stocks. Apple scions may 

 be preserved like those of the Pear by burying in sand, and 

 roots may be used for stocks, as in the case of the Pear, if 

 other stocks are not to hand. It is very possible that a good 

 supply of stocks might readily be obtained by planting cuttings 

 of Apple, Pear, or Plum roots in rows in nursery beds. After 

 grafting on roots, tie firmly and paint the junction with wax 

 or mastic, then plant the roots and scions, only leaving one 

 or two buds of the graft above the soil. "Apples," says an 

 American fruit-grower, " may be root or collar grafted success- 

 fully as follows : Seedlings grown on rich loamy soil, either one 

 or two years old, are lifted when there is no frost in autumn, 

 cleaned and stored in sand, in a cellar, and not so damp as to 

 be liable to mildew. The scions should consist of the previous 

 summer's growth. Cut them into four or five inch pieces, 

 each having from four to six good, sound, perfectly-formed 

 buds. The lower end of each of these pieces should be cut, 

 as in ordinary grafting, and the roots cut about four inches 

 long. The best piece is the one at the collar. At the upper 

 end of each piece of root make a vertical cut upwards, forming 

 a flat surface, into which, from the upper end, cut a slit forming 

 a tongue, which will fit a corresponding slit previously made in 

 the scion. With a little practice, any one can make the bark 

 of the scion, and that of the root on the ends where the flat 

 surfaces are formed, fit so closely that the sap of the one can 

 flow into the other and produce the granulation or healing pro- 

 cess without failure. The fitting can be done so that the union 



