4:6 riELD NOTES OX APPLE CULTURE. 



formed a disagreeable irregularity at the junction. If 

 the stock is a much more rapid grower than the graft 

 there will be a sudden upward contraction at the point 

 of union, or the opposite direction of contraction may 

 occur if the graft grows faster than the stock. This ir- 

 regularity in the trunk or main branches may not impair 

 the vitality of the tree, but it is always unsightly and 

 annoying. 



It is a wise plan to avoid grafting as much as possible. 

 There are few orchards, however, in which it can be en- 

 tirely dispensed with. The most successful grafting is 

 that which disturbs the tree the least and which leaves it 

 the nearest like its original shape. The first rule to learn 

 in grafting large trees is this : Graft many and small 

 limbs. It is a good plan before cutting a tree to stand 

 at some distance from it and to decide carefully at what 

 distance from the body or from the center of the top the 

 main limbs should be grafted to insure a good top. If a 

 spread of ten feet each way from the center is decided 

 upon, let all the main branches be grafted at about that 

 distance. Figure 6 is a tolerable representation of this 

 practice. Simply making the scions live is but a part of 

 the operation upon old trees. One must plan for the fu- 

 ture top of the tree. He must graft such limbs as should 

 make permanent factors in the top he is building, and 

 while he should avoid grafting too many limbs, he should 

 likewise avoid grafting too few. It should be borne in 

 mind that when a horizontal limb is grafted, the scion 

 will grow upwards, and the breadth of the tree will not 

 be much increased by subsequent growth. This is es- 

 pecially true of old trees. Trees ten years old, if prop- 



