RENOVATING NEGLECTED ORCHARDS 



401 



What to graft. With trees that are extremely weak the whole 

 top may be removed and grafted in one season. In most cases, 

 however, it is better to remove only those branches required for 

 grafting, or those that will form the new top. The remainder may 

 be removed the following season. The chief objection to this 

 practice is the danger of injuring the young grafts when the brush 

 is eventually removed. 



Care should be exercised in the distribution of the stubs to form 

 a well-shaped tree. It should be remembered that the young grafts 



. 177. Top-grafting 

 An orchard at Clyde, New Vork, top-grafted 



always grow upward, and for this reason one stub should not be 

 located beneath another. Stubs between I and 2 inches in diameter 

 are most suitable for grafting. Those larger than this seldom heal 

 over completely. 



The after-treatment. If the grafts make a very rank growth the 

 first season, they should be pinched back to prevent injury from 

 strong winds, If both grafts grow, one should be sawed off about 

 the middle of the summer. In the following spring if the grafts 

 have not been treated during the previous summer, they should be 

 cut back about half their length to induce a spreading habit. The 

 pruning of a graft will require some care and should not differ 

 much from the pruning of a young tree. The limbs of the old 



