56 THE APPLE-TREE 



high-class kinds should be attempted on dwarfs, for the 

 quantity-production of commercial apples must be ob- 

 tained by less intensive methods on cheaper lands. 



Better fruits often are grown on dwarf than on stan- 

 dards, for two reasons : It is usual to propagate only the 

 best varieties on dwarf stock ; the little tree must receive 

 extra care in pruning and in every other way. Its bushel 

 of apples must be choice, every one, to make the effort 

 of growing the tree worth the while. Under European 

 conditions where land is high-priced and labor has been 

 relatively cheap, it is possible (and common) to raise 

 apples on dwarfs for market, as it is profitable to terrace 

 the hillsides with human labor; but in North America 

 the conditions are practically the reverse and the dwarf 

 tree cannot compete with the standard orchard tree. 



The growing of a dwarf tree is essentially a garden- 

 ing practice. It requires great skill. The spurs are pro- 

 duced and protected to a nicety. Every fruit may be the 

 separate product of handwork. The fertilizing, mulching, 

 watering, are carefully regulated for every tree. Often 

 the trees are trained on cordons, espaliers, trellises or 

 walls. The individual fruits may be tied up or bagged. 

 AH this is very different from the raising of apples by 

 means of tractors and other machinery, gangs of pruners 

 and pickers, broadside extensive methods, with highly 

 organized systems of handling and marketing, in all of 

 which the money-measure is the chief consideration. It 

 is for all these reasons that the growing of a few dwarf 

 apple-trees may afford such intimate satisfaction to a 

 careful man who prizes the result of his skill. 



The dwarfs are grown as little trees branching near 

 the ground, headed in at top and side and kept within 



