45 



all uses to which they can be put. the orcharclist can top-graft on 

 to them any varieties which he may have planted, or which he 

 thinks will be a payable proposition to plant in his part of the 

 country. 1 le can bring such scion into fruit in two or three 

 years, thus testing the value of a variety in the least possible 

 time, and perhaps avoiding the risk of planting out hundreds of 

 young trees of wrong varieties ; and if he should have planted 

 them out he can prove to his satisfaction that they are unsuitable 

 and can get the young orchard grafted or budded over without 

 loss of time. 



\Ye cannot too strongly emphasise the value of such experi- 

 menting ; in fact, of such great importance do we consider the 

 earliest proof of the value of varieties in different districts in 

 a country like this, that exhibits an entire absence of data, that, 

 if feasible, it should be a matter for Government consideration 

 and aid. 



To put it clearly, that the Government should, with permis- 

 sion, take possession of selected worthless orchards scattered 

 through the country, have them worked over by top-grafting by 

 experts to such varieties as it is considered would be of com- 

 mercial value to such districts, such experts to have a thorough 

 knowledge of the bringing into early bearing of top-grafted trees. 

 One man could supervise a great number of these small orchards 

 scattered up several hundred miles of railway ; and the result 

 would be that farmers could select their varieties to be planted 

 from the success or failure of the test. We have, we consider, 

 saved thousands of pounds to our customers, and to the interests 

 which have been under our charge by making such experiments 

 covering tw r enty-one years. \Ye have got thousands of trees 

 which were of worthless varieties, the majority of them old 

 orchards, which have been worked over by top-grafting, and 

 which now have paid handsomely. 



Thirdly : Because he will be able to use such trees for testing 

 the different washes which an orchardist finds necessary. He 

 will then be in a position, before his younger trees come into 

 bearing, to kno\v the most suitable spray to use, and also to get 

 a fair knowledge as to what extent he can prune to secure a 

 crop. 



