MANAGEMENT OF APPLES IN NURSERY. 15 



which you may do any time after midsummer, 

 it is necessary to have a sharp knife with a 

 smooth edge to avoid the knife slipping and 

 cutting the stem of the graft, which it is very 

 apt to do if your knife has a bad edge, and by 

 making those cuts in the summer season it 

 leaves a place where the insect is very fond 

 of getting in and causing the tree to canker. 



It is necessary your knife should be strong, 

 and held very tight in the hand : after a little 

 practice if your stocks are not very strong, you 

 will be able to take the snag off with one cut, and 

 after this work is performed they will require 

 no further attention through the summer. I 

 shall hereafter make some interesting observa- 

 tions on grafting generally, with other methods. 



PRUNING AND MANAGEMENT OF APPLES 

 WHILE IN THE NURSERY. 



Par. 7. The next thing to explain is the 

 pruning and management while they remain in 

 the nursery. The first autumn after grafting 

 they are what are called maiden trees, and 

 they generally produce from one to three 

 shoots, and are by many preferred in this state 

 for general planting, where dwarf trees are re- 

 quired, which, in some instances, are to be re- 

 commended ; for where the tree has thrown 



