CHAPTER XXXII 



PROPAGATION 



Seedlings. Orchardists may suit their own convenience as to 

 whether they will raise or purchase their seedlings. To raise them, 

 it is necessary to obtain plenty of seeds, which may be purchased 

 from seed houses, from importers of nursery stock, or from the 

 cider mill in the form of pomace. If seeds are purchased, they 

 may be planted in the fall or in the spring, not deeper than i inch, 

 in good sandy loam. When apple pomace is used, it should be 

 strewn in furrows at a depth of from 2 to 4 inches and covered 

 with soil. During the spring and summer the seeds will germinate 

 and grow, and if they come up too thickly they may be thinned 

 either by discarding some or by transplanting. 



Seedlings may be purchased at little cost from the large nursery- 

 importing houses, which receive the small trees directly from 

 France and other foreign countries. They cost about $8.00 to 

 $9.00 per thousand trees. 



Seedlings generally will not produce fruit true to the variety 

 of the tree upon which they were grown, and therefore must be 

 grafted to produce the desired variety. 



Budding. A method of grafting commonly practiced in the 

 eastern United States is budding. This system consists of a simple 

 operation. The yearling seedling is grasped by one hand of the 

 operator about 6 or 9 inches from the ground. In the other hand 

 is a sharp knife, preferably a budding knife. With this the 

 operator makes in the bark a slit not more than I* inches long 

 the long way of the tree and about 2 or 3 inches from the level 

 of the soil. Across the top of the slit, and at right angles to it, an- 

 other cut is made, thus forming a T. The back of the knife or end 

 of the handle may be used to loosen the bark at the cambium layer. 



Scions from trees that are heavy bearers of desirable varieties 

 should be at hand. Cut one of these about one fourth of an inch 

 just below a bud. Cut out one bud and a small portion of bark just 



407 



