THE APPLE 51 



freeze and tlien put upon the ice. In this way they 

 may be kept dormant as long as is needed for any kind 

 of grafting. In cleft grafting two cions are generally 

 inserted to insure success, one of which is cut away if 

 both grow. Only the branches to be used for clefts are 

 cut off at the time of grafting, many small lateral 

 branches being allowed to grow, for to remove all buds 

 and branches would give tlie tree too severe a check. 



After Care — All suckers that come out near the 

 cions during the summer should be removed, that the 

 force of growth may all go to the cions. If the buds 

 from the cion tend to grow with so great vigor as to 

 be easily broken by the wind, it is well to pinch off the 

 ends before they are thus injured, for by such accidents 

 the work may be put back often more than one year. 

 The best time for grafting the apple and pear is when 

 the buds are beginning to swell rapidly, but unless 

 crown grafting is practiced, the bark should not peel 

 readily when the work is being done. 



VARIETIES 



At the present time not less than one thousand 

 varieties of apples of some merit are more or less culti- 

 vated, many of which may be of considerable value in 

 certain localities. Of the numerous varieties that have 

 been described in more extensive works on fruit culture, 

 probably not more than ten can be said to be thoroughly 

 hardy, productive and profitable in any one section of 

 the country. In the West many varieties succeed that 

 are of no value in the East, and vice versa. 



The inexperienced fruit grower must decide what 

 kinds are best for him to plant by consulting his com- 

 mission men and dealers as to what kinds are in demand 

 at paying prices, and his neighbors and otlier successful 

 fruit growers as to what kinds are tlie most productive, 

 most free from insects and that succeed in certain kinds 



