RATIONAL FRUIT CULTURE. 3 



consider it worth his while to plant in rich soil in order that 

 his trees may grow large and ultimately bear heavy crops; but 

 the gardener, to whom quick returns are important should plant 

 in ordinary soil, using manure chiefly after the fruit is set, 

 witl; the object of increasing its size. 



FOOD SUPPLIES REDUCED BY GRAFTING. 



Grafting is really a method of controlling the food supply. 

 It is the natural habit of the Apple and the Pear to develop 

 long thick roots which serve as broad conduits for the liquid 

 food-materials collected by the root-tips, and in consequence 

 of these lavish supplies the trees, when they are on their own 

 roots, keep on growing for many years before they come into 

 bearing. When they are grafted on stocks which ordinarily 

 have fine fibrous roots, the supplies are reduced and the period 

 before fruiting commences is very much shortened. The stock 

 generally chosen for the Apple is the Paradise, a species of 

 Crab, and for the Pear the Quince. 



But «ven a grafted tree, if not treated properly, will 

 develop long, thick roots in time, and therefore continue grow- 

 ing vigorously instead of fruiting. The roots follow the lines 

 of the food around them, and as the ground close to the tree 

 gets exhausted they travel farther and farther away, thickening 

 as they lengthen. The addition of some manure is necessary 

 to compensate for loss, and to keep the roots near the tree 

 and near the surface. But the amount should always be 

 moderate. 



OLD METHODS OF CONTROLLING THE FOOD SUPPLY. 



The importance of controlling the supply of food has long 

 been recognised, but the methods formerly adopted were crude 

 and barbarous, and had as their immediate object the reduction 

 of the strength of the sap current chiefly by means of pres- 

 sure. They consisted, of tying wire tightly round the trunk, 

 driving in enormous nails, weighting the fork with heavy 



