288 APPLES. 



them when necessary to upright stakes; and all destructive 

 insects must be watched and destroyed. 



FIG. 343. Root-Graft, set out well, with FIG. 344. Root-Graft, badly set 

 earth compactly pressed against its roots. out, with a cavity below. 



If the ground is rich and kept perfectly clean, they will 

 grow from one and a half to two feet the first summer after 

 grafting; to three or four feet the second summer; five to six 

 or seven feet the third summer, when many of them will be 

 large enough for removal to the orchard, and most of the re- 

 mainder in one year more. 



FIG. 345. Dibble. FIG. 346. Root-Graft ready for setting. 



Root-grafting is extensively performed in large nurseries; 

 but on unsuitable soils, budding is found the most certain of 

 success, the buds being rarely destroyed, and only by the 

 most unfavorable winters. The bud remaining dormant the 

 first summer, the growth is one year later than on grafted 

 stocks of the same age ; but this difference is made up by the 

 more rapid growth of the shoot from the bud, which is usually 

 twice as great as that of a graft on the root. To obtain 



