RATIONAL FRUIT CULTURE. 85 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

 GRAFTING, AND THE RENOVATION OF OLD TREES. 



FEOM the utilitarian standpoint, there can be no doubt 

 that the best way to treat worn-oUt old trees is to 

 grub them up. Besides being unprofitable, they har- 

 bour injurious insects and parasitic fungi, and,are thus centres 

 of infection, and they can be so cheaply replaced by young 

 trees of the finest kinds. In some gardens, however, they 

 are picturesque objects, and for that reason, or because of their 

 associations, there often is a reluctance to get rid of them. 

 In such cases they can generally be made more ornamental 

 by using them as supports for climbers. Some of the Eambler 

 or Wichuraiana Eoses will send up shoots twenty feet or more 

 in length in the course of a year or two, and when these 

 shoots reach the top of an old Apple or Pear, and then hang 

 down in long sprays of beautiful flowers, they are exceedingly 

 effective. 



THE MANAGEMENT OF OLD TREES. 



Some old trees need only proper management to make 

 them profitable. They may have been spoiled by neglect, or 

 they may be worthless varieties, but if they are in a healthy 

 condition, it would be a pity to destroy them, for their reno- 

 vation should not be difficult. If they are growing too vigor- 

 ously to flower, they should be root-pruned; if, after flowering, 

 they do not fruit, other varieties .should be associated with 

 them. Both these matters were dealt with in the opening 

 chapters. Loss of vigour may be due to suckers, want of 

 manure, disease, or various other causes. Some pruning is 



