APPLES, PEACHES, PLUMS AND QUINCES. 23 



No climate or soil is better adapted to the culture of the 

 apple than the United States, extending west from the At- 

 lantic, between the parallels of forty degrees to forty-four 

 deegrees north, to the Pacific ocean, where ever orchards 

 have been planted. The young orchards of Washington 

 Territory and Oregon are producing the very finest of pomo- 

 logical productions. 



As much has been written how apple trees should be culti- 

 vated, your committee wish to state how they are cultivated 

 and some of the results. 



Formerly, trees raised in New England, from well ripened 

 seed, gathered from fruit of seedling trees, in a virgin soil, 

 lived, bloomed and bore fruit more than two hundred years. 

 The tree planted by Peregrine White, the first male born in 

 Plymouth Colony, is now bearing fruit. Now, young trees 

 are constitutionally impaired, sickly, and, while yet young, 

 show signs of premature decay, and — death. Most of the 

 seeds now used for seedling stocks, (where stocks are used at 

 all,) are washed from the pomace of windfall, unripe, wormy, 

 refuse fruit. The seeds are planted in nursery drills, some- 

 times without being freed from the acid, poisonous pomace, 

 to form grafting stocks ; no, not stocks, but pieces of roots. 



At the West, from whence come most of our young trees, 

 by and through agents, the nurserymen let the trees stand 

 till they have made roots of considerable length, then they 

 dig them up late in autumn, put them into their "grafting 

 cellars," and, during the inclemency of winter, cut the roots 

 into pieces of about six inches in length, with pruning shears, 

 put a graft into one of the ends, put on their grafting wax 

 and pack them away in wet sand for spring setting; if, 

 however, the root can grow, (as many do,) they make the 

 trees of which many of our young orchards are composed. 

 They are produced to be sold by agents, or otherwise. 



Another fact is, the grafts, though of choice kinds, too 

 frequently are taken from old trees in renovated orchards, 

 and the renovating grafts taken from other old trees, there- 



