30 



ORCHARDS. 



of the growing season^ and then^ at the time of winter 

 pruning, to cut them all out clean at once. The objec- 

 tion to the first mode is this. The small amount of 

 foliage which the scion possesses in the early part of 

 the season is often insufficient, especially in limbs of 

 some size, to induce that circulation of the sap necessary 

 to maintain and promote growth, and the scion, after 

 making perhaps a good start, languishes and shows only 

 feeble vitality, and makes but an indifferent union with 

 the stock. The objection to the other plan is, that 

 suckers frequently outstrip in vigor the scions them- 

 selves, and although under such circumstances the scions 

 may make a good union, yet this growth is less than it 

 would be under different management. 



The best method that we have found, and one which 

 we invariably adopt after grafting the pear, is this ; to 

 let every sucker grow for a length of time depending 

 upon the size of limb, and the vigor of the scion. As 

 soon as the scion has made a good start, or if it hesitates 

 while the suckers start strong, the ends of the latter are 

 to be pinched out so as to stop their elongation and 

 throw more vigor into the former. Once pinching is 

 ordinarily enough, but sometimes it is advisable to 

 attend to it again, or even more than once, if the scion 

 does not make wood satisfactorily. At the winter 

 pruning, all the suckers are to be cut out clean. If it 

 is desirable to get all the growth possible, as in the case 

 of some slow growing varieties, or rare roots that we 

 wish to force, the suckers may be cut out as soon as the 

 graft shews an amount of foliage sufficient to continue 

 ji vi""orous <2;rowth, independent of their assistance. 

 In grafting old apple trees on the large scale, we should 



