PROPAGATION OF APPLE TREES. 109 



tap-root and put in a Jonathan cion. By the time that tree is five 

 years old it will have no tap-root. On the other hand, a Janet will 

 produce one whether the original root is whole or a piece. Remember 

 that the cion has all influence over root growth, but the root has none 

 over the cion or top. 



Harris — This is an important question, and deserving of much 

 attention. Our county has been overrun by agents selling Old Oak 

 Process or whole-root trees. I got one of their circulars in which they 

 quoted from J. L. Budd, giving his recommendation of whole-root 

 trees. I wrote to Budd and in his reply he said he had never said 

 whole-root trees are best, but he did think the crown grafts, or first 

 piece of root, was a little better than those farther down. 



Day — I have studied this matter and think the root-graft far su- 

 perior to any other ; the junction between cion and root is under- 

 ground and hence not exposed to the air like in the case of buds. 

 Where the bud is put in as it is above ground and the stock cut off it 

 gives a chance for decay right on the start. 



Carpenter — Top-working is good for the far north, the grafts 

 being put in three or four feet above ground on hardy stocks, such as 

 the Whitney, Tetofsky, etc. It is a hard matter, however, to tell 

 without much experimenting what varieties are suited by certain 

 stocks, as for instance the Tetofsky, naturally a slow grower, will 

 overgrow in three years if grafted into Transcendent stock. You 

 must select varieties suited to the stock or your orchard will be very 

 irregular. 



Harris — Our oldest orchards are seedlings top- worked and they 

 are nearly all root killed. We cannot depend on seedling roots to 

 withstand cold weather. 



Stephens — We can see the merits of double-working where a ten- 

 der variety is to be propagated ; use a long, hardy cion and short 

 root for the stock, then top-work when large enough to put in the 

 graft two or three feet above ground. 



Masters — I begun the nursery business in 1852 and was rather 

 green at that time ; begun propagating by using long roots and short 

 cions and the result was that I lost ninety per cent of my planting. 

 This set me to thinking and I finally resolved to try collar-grafts, or 

 ones put above the collar, say four or five inches above ground ; 

 thought it would save time, too, but again I lost nearly seventy-five 



