182 FRUIT CULTURE. 



are wanted for winter grafting (a process which 

 will be hereafter described), they should be so 

 covered as to be accessible. 



In early spring, the stocks which are intended 

 for budding should have their tap roots short- 

 ened by a clean cut of the knife. If free from 

 small fibrous roots, which are worse than useless, 

 it will be well to dip the roots in a thin wash of 

 clay and cow dung, thus insuring them against 

 drying. It is well to dip all trees in such a 

 wash, when removed, provided the fibres are not 

 left wadded together to cause decay. It is the 

 approved practice to plant fruit stocks in rows 

 three and a half feet apart, and one foot in 

 the row. After thorough ploughing, a line is 

 stretched, and a trench is cut with a spade, deep 

 enough to receive the stocks on the same level 

 as the growth of the previous year. One boy 

 holds the stock at the right distance, and a man 

 standing off on the opened side of the line, with 

 a hoe bottom-side up, presses a little fine earth 

 very firmly against the stock, bringing it to a 

 plump upright position. The trench is then to 

 be filled, and if the stocks are not so firm in the 

 ground that they will not yield to a slight pull, 

 a gentle pressure of the foot on both sides of the 

 row is advisable. Loose planting is the cause 

 of many failures. If rightly planted, in rich 



