76 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



clear color they are of last year's crop, but if the flesh shows any dis- 

 coloration they are old and will not germinate. I have often got hold of 

 . lot that were mixed, old and new together. Never risk a lot of this kind, 

 for failure will follow. After the nuts have been selected place them in 

 some kind of tin vessel; a five-gallon oil can, with the top removed, is just 

 the thing. Then cover them with hot water at not over no degrees F. 

 Let them remain in this water for 24 hours and plant at once, keeping 

 them in the water all the time. Do not let them become the least bit dry, 

 and be sure the soil is moist, and put every nut in with the sharp point 

 exactly straight down. The root starts from this point and will go 

 straight down, and if not molested will the first year be about three times 

 the length of the top; that is, if the top grows one foot, the straight tap 

 root will be three feet or more long, and will be from three-fourths to an 

 inch thick where it grew out of the nut, tapering both up and down." 



Imported Seedlings. A very large proportion of some kinds 

 of the cherry, pear and apple trees produced in this State are 

 worked upon imported seedling stocks. These stocks are cheap, 

 convenient to handle, and are therefore popular. It is easy enough 

 to grow peach, almond, apricot, and Myrobalan seedlings, but small 

 seeds, like apple and pear, often do not show up well in the spring, 

 especially if the soil is of a kind that crusts over with rain and 

 sunshine. Therefore our nurserymen import these seedlings in 

 the winter, plant them out, as has already been described, and bud 

 in the following summer, grafting the next spring where the buds 

 fail. If the seedlings are large when received, they are often root- 

 grafted at once, and then one summer in the nursery gives a tree 

 suitable for planting out. These stocks are of better budding size 

 during their first summer than California seedlings, which are apt 

 to overgrow. 



Myrobalan plum seedlings were formerly imported to a large 

 extent, but are now chiefly home-grown, and seedlings are used 

 instead of cuttings, which formerly were employed largely. This 

 stock has secured great favor for plums and prunes, and in some 

 situations, for the apricot, as it is hardier against extremes of 

 drouth and moisture. 



Prof. Newton B. Pierce, of Santa Ana, has discovered in Cali- 

 fornia upon imported seedlings a serious root-fungus which kills 

 all kinds of orchard trees in Europe, and he advises the use of 

 home-grown seedlings to escape this danger. 



Fruit Trees from Cuttings. It is feasible to grow a number of 

 kinds of fruit trees from cuttings, but it is not desirable in many 

 cases to do it. Trees grown from a graft or bud in a seedling root 

 are much better. The root system of a seedling is naturally 

 stronger and more symmetrical. The roots from a cutting start 

 out at the bottom and spread out horizontally and irregularly. 

 This style of a root system is expressively named "duck-foot roots," 

 and they do not give the tree a deep, strong hold on the soil. Trees 

 can, however, be multiplied very fast from cuttings. Notable in- 

 stances of this are the Myrobalan plum and the Leconte pear. 

 Cuttings of deciduous trees should be taken from well-matured 



