TOP-GRAFTING OLD APPLE TREES. 51 



and standing them half their length in moist sand in the 

 cellar. I have also kept them in good condition by stick- 

 ing them half their length into the ground about the 

 base of the tree from which they were cut. If scions are 

 cut in late winter or early spring, they can be kept better 

 because they do not have to be kept so long. It is a com- 

 mon notion that scions cut in cold weather will not grow, 

 but I have always had a contrary experience. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



TOP-GRAFTING OLD APPLE TREES. 



Top-grafting large trees is at best a harsh and unnat- 

 ural process, and it should be practiced with caution. If 

 an old tree bears moderately good fruit, a grower should 

 consider well before top-grafting it. An apple below the 

 average in quality often makes good pies, sauce or dried 

 fruit. If the apples can be turned to any profitable use, 

 and the tree is twenty years old, it is doubtful if it will 

 pay to graft it. Much will depend on the thriftiness 

 of the tree. A man who feeds his orchard, and prunes 

 it regularly and judiciously, need have less hesitation 

 about top-grafting. Trees receiving such treatment will 

 stand a much greater chance of fully recovering from 

 the shock of grafting. Much also depends upon the 

 manner in which a tree is grafted. If a tree has been 

 properly pruned, nearly all the limbs may be grafted. If 

 it has not, many beside the grafted limbs will need to be 

 removed ; and if the tree is old, and especially if a little 

 feeble, it will be likely to suffer. A good grafter will try 



