TRANSPLANTING AND DISTANCES. 57 



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 and hardihood. Recently there has been much 

 speculation respecting the hardihood as well as bearing of budded 

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

 criminate use of small pieces of roots. That budding will be found 

 in the main any better than the grafting process, when performed, 

 as advised, at the crown, and on the whole of a seedling root, we are 

 disposed to doubt, although many good orchardists now favor it. 

 The only point we can see in its favor is the comparative 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 dis- 

 posed to " bark burst" near the ground, and to remedy this, budding 

 will be adopted. But again, all seedlings are not alike hardy al- 

 though 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 en- 

 sure as much hardihood as is in the nature of trees ; yet this will 

 never be practised to any considerable extent, on account of its ex- 

 pense in the growing a tree. That the habit of bearing will be in 

 creased 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, except 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 influ- 

 ence of stock, see previous pages. 



Transplanting and distances. Trees when taken from the nursery 

 should have their roots immediately covered in the ground, on ar- 

 riving at their destination. Often trees are left out over night on 

 wagons, subject to severe cold and frost, by which they are not al- 

 ways ruined, but 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 requisite to success that the top be shortened 

 2* 



