TRANSPLANTING. 53 



of the best piece of plow land, when, had the planter known that 

 trees planted on his hills would have been more hardy, and have 

 produced fruit five years to every three when grown in the valley, he 

 would have, without doubt, made his orchard on his hills. There are 

 some parts of the West, and very much at the East, where the hills 

 are entirely unsuited to the plow ; yet by planting with trees, and 

 digging around until of twelve or more years old, they will make the 

 most profitable of orchards. 



On the prairies, a belt of trees around the orchard is considered 

 of great benefit in protecting from the sweeping winds, sometimes 

 destructive to fruit and tree. Here also the selection of the highest 

 knolls and oak groves is found best for success in fruit growing. 



Influence of Stock on the hardihood. Recently there has beef 

 much speculation respecting the hardihood as well as bearing of 

 budded or grafted trees, all of which has doubtless arisen from the 

 indiscriminate use for stocks, of small pieces of roots. That budding 

 will be found in the main any better than the grafting process, when 

 the latter is performed at the crown of a seedling root, we are dis- 

 posed to doubt, although many good orchardists now favor it. The 

 only point we can see in its favor, is the hardihood of the stock as 

 compared with that of the variety intended to be grown ; this will 

 in some varieties make budding the preferable mode, as it is now 

 well known that some, indeed most, of the strong rapid-growing sorts, 

 of Northern or Eastern origin, are somewhat disposed to " bark-burst" 

 near the ground, and to remedy this, budding will be adopted. But 

 again, all seedlings are not alike hardy although as a whole, more 

 so than worked varieties ; and undoubtedly cultivated sorts may be 

 found, which, if worked as grafts on whole roots, and again re- 

 worked at three feet from the ground, would ensure as much hardi- 

 hood as is in the nature of trees ; yet this will never be practiced to 

 any considerable extent, on account of its expense in the growing a 

 tree. That the habit of bearing will be increased or lessened by 

 budding or grafting as we advise, is also another feature at this 

 time in dispute, but we can see nothing to favor it, excep the fact 

 that trees budded do produce better than roots grafted on the old 

 'common indiscriminate practice of using anything in shape of a 

 piece of root, depending on the richness of soil to create from it a 

 tree for sale. For other remarks on influence of stock, see previous 

 pages. 



Transplanting. Trees when taken from the nursery should have 

 their roots immediately covered in the ground, on arriving at their 

 destination. Often trees are left out over night on wagons, subject 

 to severe cold and frost, by which, if not ruined, they are frequently 

 so far injured as to check their entire growth one season. We do 

 not like the practice of shortening back the tops of apple trees where 

 they have been taken up with care ; but as usually dug, it is requi- 



