PROPAGATION OF TREES AND PLANTS 



183 



Digging the Seedlings In the fall, before the 

 ground freezes, the seedlings, which should have made 

 a growth of from one to two feet, must be carefully dug 

 and heeled-in, i. e., packed in trenches of light soil, 

 where there will be no standing water, with the soil 

 carefully worked in among the roots and nearly all of 

 the top covered with soil, and as very cold weather comes 

 on a covering of straw 

 or hay be put on to 

 keep the ground from 

 deep freezing. If the 

 seedlings are to be 

 root grafted, they are 

 washed after digging 

 and packed in sphag- 

 num moss or sawdust 

 and put into a very 

 cool cellar. 



Root Grafting 

 Much has been said 

 pro and con as to the 

 value of the root- 

 grafted apple tree as 

 compared with the 

 budded tree, and it 

 may be said that both 

 are good when the 

 work is properly done, 

 and the writer believes that a root graft, skillfully made 

 in December or January, and carefully stored in a cool 

 cellar in moist sand or light soil until the last of April 

 and then planted in a rich soil, will make as good a 

 tree as most budded stocks, but, for the amateur, 

 budding will give the best results. 



The root graft is made by taking the seedling and 

 first trimming off the lateral roots and the end of the 



Fig. 93 Fig. 94 Fig. 95 

 Root drafting 



