DECEMBER. 559 



about half an inch long, rather stout, and moderately inserted 

 in an open, very regularly formed cavity : Eye, rather large, 

 closed, and little sunk in a very large abruptly depressed ba- 

 sin ; segments of the calyx, short, woolly : Flesh, white, 

 fine, firm and crisp : Juice, tolerably abundant, pleasantly acid 

 and well flavored : Core, small, closed : Seeds, medium size. 

 Ripe from December to March. 



POMOLOGICAL GOSSIP, 



RooT-GRAPTED AppLE Trees. — It wiU be recollected by 

 those of our readers who are interested in this subject, that in 

 a recent volume (XIX, p. 24) we objected to the practice of 

 root-grafting apple trees, and gave our reasons therefor, in 

 answer to a call from Mr. Barry, of Rochester, that we would 

 do so. We stated facts, in proof of our views, but the reply 

 of Mr. Barry was in such a flippant style, evading the argu- 

 ment, that we took no further notice of it. If the discussion, 

 which was for the purpose of eliciting information, could not 

 be carried on without personal allusions, we thought it might 

 as well be dropped. 



Since then the question has been freely discussed by the 

 Western fruit growers in their annual conventions, in which 

 various opinions have been given, some for and some against 

 the practice, but it was not till recently that we saw the most 

 convincing statements in regard to the ill effects of root-graft- 

 ing, communicated by experienced men. In our visit West, 

 last year, we noticed that the apple trees, wherever we saw 

 them, had not the erect appearance of the New England 

 orchards, and could attribute it to nothing else than the want 

 of a vigorous stock by which the tree would be better able 

 to resist the winds of the Prairies. But whether this was the 

 cause or not it is not our purpose to inquire at this time. We 

 now quote the testimony above referred to : — 



"Judge Green, of Cedar Rapids, lowa^ has an extensive 

 orchard of several thousand apple trees, mostly root-grafts. 



