28 BIGGIE ORCHARD BOOK 



SPROUTS FROM EXPERIENCE. 



Repeated freezing- and thawing- while in a moist condition is 

 destructive to most seeds. 



Tim. says that orchard grafters are the only kind of graf ters 

 who don't get into trouble nowadays. 



Be sure that your top grafts are not choked out by being 

 overshaded or interfered with by growth from the stock. If 

 lice appear, soak the pests with strong tobacco-tea ; do this early, 

 before the leaves curl and hide the insects. 



Cherry, peach and other pits should not be allowed to dry 

 much after they are taken from the fruit. Wash them clean, 

 dry in the shade sufficiently to prevent mold, and then stratify, 

 or store as directed in the beginning of this chapter. 



No use to attempt the grafting or budding of unrelated 

 fruits ; the pomaceous fruits, the stone and the citrus kinds, are 

 families by themselves. For example: The pear works nicely 

 on the pear, better on the quince, and not so easily on the apple, 

 but you can't induce it to grow on the cherry or the plum. And 

 vice versa. 



Nurserymen frequently practise what they call "stratifica- 

 tion"; it consists in placing layers of seeds alternating with 

 layers of sand in a shallow box. This box may be buried or it 

 may be set in a sheltered place and covered with leaves or straw 

 to the depth of a foot. The object is to soften and decay the hard 

 covering without starting germination. Freezing is beneficial 

 in case of walnuts, hickory-nuts, peach pits, and the like, as it 

 helps to crack the shells. Hence such seeds are sometimes 

 stratified in boxes placed in sheltered spots on the surface of 

 the ground, or they may be merely placed in a pile on the ground 

 with a slight covering of leaves or straw. A special point to be 

 guarded against in stratification is alternate freezing and thaw- 

 ing. Seeds receiving this treatment should be planted imme- 

 diately upon being removed from stratification and before signs 

 of growth appear. A few hours' exposure to wind and sun may 

 prove disastrous. 



