APPLE 



HABDY FBUIT GABDEN 



APPLE 1045 



open air if inserted aboiit November. 

 They should consist of the ripened growth 

 of the current year, ending with a small 

 portion or ' heel ' of the previous year's 

 wood, and may be 6-9 in. in length. All 

 buds except two or three at the upper end 

 should be removed, and the cuttings may 

 be firmly inserted in sandy soil about half 

 their length. They should then receive 

 a good watering to settle the soil round 

 them, and require no farther attention 

 until next autumn when they may be 

 transplanted and pruned according to the 

 shape in which it is desired to grow the tree. 



Apple trees raised from cuttings have 

 the advantage of being on their own roots, 

 and many people now consider this a 

 great advantage over budded or grafted 

 trees. In from four to six years, accord- 

 ing to variety, the tree will be in full 

 bearing. 



Layering. — Apple trees may be, and 

 sometimes are, layered by bending the 

 branches down, and cutting partially 

 through where they come in contact 

 with the soil. When pegged down and 

 covered with earth, they soon root, and 

 when firmly estabUshed the layers may 

 be severed from the parent plant. 

 Suckers are sometimes used for purposes 

 of increase, but they are chiefly valuable 

 for stocks. Unless a tree is on its own 

 roots, from a cutting or a layer, the 

 sucker is almost sure to be that of a wild 

 stock, and therefore valueless for fruit 

 bearing. See p. 59. 



Buddmg. — Apples are rarely budded, 

 as the buds are rather late in ripening, 

 and thus beyond the season when budding 

 is usually practised. Under favourable 

 conditions, however, Apples may be 

 budded as easily as other fruit trees or 

 Eoses, the operation being performed as 

 described at p. 58. 



Grafting. — This is the usual method of 

 increasing Apples. Old trees are usually 

 crown-grafted, but young stocks are 

 generally whip- or splice-grafted. The 

 stocks are usually ' headed down ' or cut 

 back to the desired height about January 

 or February, and are generally grafted 

 about the end or middle of March. Bush, 

 standard, and half standard trees are all 

 grafted very low down near the ground, 

 so that in the course of time roots 

 emitted from the scion will assist those 

 of the stock in nourishing the plants. 



For the different kinds of Grafting see 



Old trees with worn-out tops may 

 often be grafted with advantage and 

 continue for years afterwards to produce 

 good crops of fruit. But it is always a 

 question whether they are worth the 

 trouble of regrafting instead of obtaining 

 young trees. As a rule it is better to 

 obtain young healthy trees than to 

 waste time doctoring up old ones, which 

 may or may not yield fruit afterwards. 



Kinds of Stock. — As the Stock has a 

 certain influence on the growth and de- 

 velopment of the graft, it may be useful 

 to refer to those usually employed for 

 Apple trees. 



1. The Crab, or Free Stock. — This is 

 usually raised from the seeds of the Wild 

 Crab or Cider Apples, and trees grafted 

 upon it are regular in outline, very hardy, 

 and are very suitable for orchards and 

 market gardens, where it is impossible to 

 give attention to each individual tree as 

 regards pruning and thinning out. The 

 roots of the Crab Stock are strong and 

 fibrous. 



2. The Doucim Stock. — This is a 

 variety not quite so hardy or vigorous as 

 the Crab, but in suitable soils is practically 

 quite as robust. It has rather longer and 

 more fibrous roots than the Crab, but 

 does not exhibit such a difference in 

 thickness between stock and graft as does 

 the Paradise Stock. Except in dry soils 

 and for a small number of varieties, trees 

 grafted on the Doucin Stock should not 

 be severely or regularly pruned every 

 year, as they are apt to be rendered fruit- 

 less by the operation. It is well to bear 

 this fact in mind, as many gardeners 

 have a mania for pruning every variety, 

 quite regardless as to the stock upon 

 which it may be grafted. Varieties on 

 the Doucin Stock require very little 

 pruning. Just cutting out mmecessary 

 branches and dead wood is sufficient. 

 The trees will form a fine head, and bear 

 abundance of fruit — but not if severely 

 pruned. 



3. The Paradise StocTc. — This is a 

 dwarf variety of Apple easily increased by 

 suckers and cuttings. It is chiefly valu- 

 able in the dwarfing influence it exerts, 

 thus producing lower trees. It also 

 influences the earlier ripening of the 

 fruit, and is suitable for the best varieties 

 of Apples to be grafted upon it. The 

 fruits not only mature more quickly, but 

 are also more regular in shape and brighter 

 in colour. Being somewhat less vigorous 



