146 TREATISE ON FRUIT TREES. 



CULTIVATION. 



1°. Seed planting propagates the clingstone apricot tree without variation and with 

 very few differences. But seeds of all the other apricot trees rarely propagate true to type. 

 Trees obtained from them usually have small leaves. Their fruit is not very plentiful & is 

 diminished in size. It has a slightly bitter & natural taste that makes it more suitable for 

 preserves (ban for being eaten fresh. But these trees make excellent stocks for grafting 

 authentic apricot trees, peach trees, & plum trees. 



2°. Apricot trees are cleft grafted onto plum trees, or better dormant bud grafted 

 onto wild stock of the apricot or plum tree. The Nancy apricot tree succeeds very well on 

 an almond tree. The Angoumois & the clingstone are grafted onto it as well, but the bud 

 shield comes off easily. 



3°. Apricot trees are grown in the open either as bush or as standard trees. If the 

 fruit fails to reach full size, it will take on more color & a more enhanced flavor that 

 makes it preferable for being eaten fresh. But in the open this tree often fails to bear fruit 

 unless it's planted in a small walled garden, in a courtyard, or in some other sheltered 

 place that's suitable for protecting its flowers from frost that often damages it when it's in 

 a large garden or in an exposed area. To be certain of getting fruit every year, the apricot 

 tree must be planted on an espalier. All exposures are suitable, even a northern one where 

 the flowers open later and thus run fewer risks. The fruit, since it doesn't take on color 

 there, is more suitable for making preserves where a light yellow or slightly amber color 

 is desired. Nevertheless, the eastern and southern exposures are the most favorable. 



4°. The apricot tree enjoys warm, loose, sandy, deep soil & accommodates to all 

 kinds of terrain, especially when grafted to an apricot tree grown from the pit. 



