28 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



orchard, its after-cultivation, and the gathering and marketing the 

 fruit, though an oft told tale, might perhaps be of use to some, if 

 reiterated at this our wintei- meeting. 



In the first place, I would advise every one who has already' started 

 an orchard, to begin a nursery by sowing seeds. When an orchard 

 has been planted, it is a safe calculation to make, that about ten per 

 cent of the trees must be renewed annually for some j'ears. The 

 trees when small ma^^ be broken down by the wind, or accident, or 

 killed b}' borers. With a nursery of one's own these can be re- 

 placed in a more satisfactory manner than by purchase, and at a 

 trifling cost. The seeds should be sown in drills, and the second 

 year after, the trees shall be taken up and planted in rows two or 

 three feet apart and well manured and cultivated. The next thing 

 to be considered is grafting, of which there are several modes. I 

 have often practiced splice grafting with success, but with this mode 

 the bod}' of the tree, or of the branch to be grafted, should not be 

 much larger than the cion. For some trees, especiall}' the Bell- 

 flower, which is inclined to split at tlie forks, it is much better to graft 

 the branches, and for this, splice grafting is an admirable metiiod. 



Budding is another mode, and in this I have been ver}' successful. 

 The time for this is in August, as soon as the buds are well formed. 

 The process is xevy simple, and the advantages are, that if the bud 

 takes you gain time, and if it fails your tree is not injured as it 

 would be by the failure of a graft. In budding it is best always to 

 use waxed strips of cloth, and after two or three weeks have elapsed 

 if you find the buds have taken, cut across the waxed cloth on the 

 side opposite to the bud, to allow the bud to swell. It is generally 

 recommended to cut off the wood beyond the bud, in the spring 

 when the bud begins to grow, but I much prefer to allow the old 

 wood above the bud to remain till the bud is nearly the size of the 

 stock, as in this way the bud, as it grows, can be tied to the stock 

 as to a stake, but care must be taken to cut otT all leaves that 

 appear on the stock above the bud. I have probably one hundred 

 trees in bearing that were budded. I do not speak of the usual modes 

 of grafting, as they are familiar to everyone. In planting out apple 

 trees I am satisfied that thirty feet each wa\' is the best distance. 

 For the first ten ^-ears, twent}- feet might do, but after twenty years, 

 thirty feet will prove to be the best. Great care should be taken in 

 planting. Dig the hole as large as the roots, and a foot deeper than 

 you wish to set the tree, then all around the hole undermine the 



