186 THE NURSERY-MANUAL 



One never knows what the so-called "pedigree" may mean 

 in any case or whether it is actually worth an additional price. 

 Yet the exercise of care in any part of the nursery operation 

 is commendable and ought to express itself in the product. 

 There is reason to think that parentage counts in bud-propa- 

 gation, although there is not the scope for variation and breed- 

 ing that there is in seed-propagation. The bud-selection 

 work of Shamel in oranges is significant. Nurserymen should 

 encourage a careful selection-product. 



Trimming trees in the nursery 



One of the prime efforts of the nurseryman is to make his 

 trees stocky. Many factors conspire to produce this result. 

 Any treatment that makes trees grow vigorously may be ex- 

 pected to contribute to their stockiness, if the grower does 

 not circumvent it by some subsequent operation. 



Fruit-trees should be given plenty of room. The rows in 

 the nursery should stand 3^ feet apart, for ordinary fruit-trees, 

 and the plants should stand 10 inches or a foot apart in the row. 

 The first year the leaves should not be rubbed off the bodies 

 of the trees, else the trees will grow too much at the top and 

 become too slender. If, however, strong forking or side 

 branches appear low down as often happens in sour cherries 

 they should be removed. Budded or whole-root stock of 

 fruit-trees should reach a height of 4 feet or more the first 

 year. The following spring, the stock is headed-in uniformly, 

 reducing it to the height of 3 or 4 feet, according to kind and 

 the uses for which the stock is grown. 



Soon after the trees are headed back the second spring, they 

 are "sprouted." This operation consists in hoeing the dirt 

 away from the base of the tree and cutting off all sprouts that 

 start from the root or the crown. After heading-in, the tree 

 "feathers out" from top to bottom. It is a common practice 



