October, 1912 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



99 



budded on quince roots imported from 

 France. It is this factor which causes the 

 sort to become dwarf. Pear trees usually 

 have one strong tap root which sometimes 

 divides itself into three or four branch roots. 

 They thrive best in heavy clay soil in which 

 they resist blight best. Pears are free from 

 disease and easily grown. 



Plums. Are of two distinct types — 

 the European and the Japanese. The 

 European sorts, of which the German 

 prune is the best, are easily the most im- 

 portant for the Eastern states. They are 

 budded on French plum seedlings, which 

 furnish a sound and very hardy foundation. 

 The Japanese sorts are usually budded on 

 peach seedlings because these grow quicker 

 and are cheaper, though they no doubt 

 shorten the life of the tree. Japanese plums 

 cannot be recommended generally because 

 in most sections they freeze nine years 

 out of ten. 



Apricots. Are budded entirely on peach 

 seedlings and may be judged along the same 

 lines as peach trees. More frank statements 

 on the part of nurserymen in connection 

 with this fruit would save American 

 planters thousands of dollars every year. 

 They are grown successfully only in South- 

 ern California — everywhere else they 

 freeze. [Not so! We know of fruiting 

 trees right in New York City — Editors.] 



Quinces. Are budded on quince seed- 

 lings for which reason they make a dwarf, 

 bush-like growth. They have usually short 

 trunks and low, bushy heads. The root 

 system should consist of a few short but 

 strong tap-roots and a number of smaller 

 rootlets. Quinces may be set 10 by 10 feet 

 apart. They are free from disease, bear 

 faithfully and the fruits keep well. 



Berry plants. All those mentioned below 

 are grown from cuttings. The root system 

 which subsequently develops, depends 



very much upon the soil in which the plants 

 are grown. Currants have the most 

 fibrous root system of them all, roots of 

 ideal plants being almost as strong and 

 heavy as the stalks. In grape vines, we 

 find a complete reversion of the usual order 

 of things, as a good grape plant should 

 have more roots than branches. With 

 raspberries, look for some stout tap roots 

 and numerous fibrous roots, while with 

 blackberries and gooseberries the tap- 

 roots are predominating. 



Some Practical Reasons for 

 Planting Now 



IT PAYS to plant nursery stock in the 

 fall (except in the extreme North and 

 South) for a variety of reasons. The only 

 reason why it is not more practised is be- 

 cause these facts are not generally known. 



Fall is the most logical time to transplant 

 trees and shrubs of all kinds, because they 

 are then completely at rest. No quick 

 awakening threatens to handicap work at 

 any time, as nearly always happens in the 

 spring, when the sap begins to run very 

 suddenly. While the branches and trunks 

 are dormant, the root system starts active 

 work at once and begins to establish the 

 tree in its new home. 



The soil is usually in ideal condition in 

 the fall, thoroughly warm and mellow, with 

 the fertility of a long growing season stored 

 in it. The newly planted tree gets the 

 benefits of all the late fall and early spring 

 rains, of which trees planted in the spring 

 are usually deprived to the detriment of 

 that summer's growth. Experiments have 

 proven that bruises and wounds on both 

 roots and trunk heal over more quickly 

 in the fall than in the spring. 



The planter has plenty of time in the 



Raspberries have fewer tap roots than blackberries, which have hardly anything else 



A good grape vine has considerably more roots than 

 it has top 



fall to attend properly to the planting 

 operations, while in the spring, garden work 

 usually presses so hard that tree planting 

 is done too hurriedly. Fifty per cent, of 

 all failures with trees are due to improper 

 planting methods. "Dig the holes big 

 enough" is the advice that nurserymen 

 should present strongly and repeatedly on 

 every piece of printed matter they send out. 

 "Tramp soil tightly, but carefully around 

 the roots" is another necessary advice. 

 The season will take care of the moisture 

 supply when stock is planted in the fall. 



Some remarkable trials conducted by 

 Prof. J. C. Whitten (and reported in detail 

 in The Garden Magazine for October, 

 191 1) proved that fall planted fruit trees 

 would outgrow their spring planted broth- 

 ers every time under all circumstances. 

 With small fruits, such as grapes, currants, 

 all kinds of berry plants, the fall planter 

 actually gains a whole year because these 

 bushes will bear fruit the following summer. 

 Roses, hardy herbaceous plants, spring- 

 flowering shrubs, etc., are best transplanted 

 in the fall. Spring usually comes so sud- 

 denly in most sections of the country that 

 these can hardly ever be transplanted soon 

 enough at that season without their growth 

 becoming seriously checked for that year. 

 It is assumed that the planter will mulch 

 all newly set plants the first winter. 



One final message that should make fall 

 planting look more attractive to all planters: 

 Nurserymen dig from new "blocks" of 

 trees in the fall and, because they are less 

 crowded with work at that season, they 

 usually select especially fine trees with 

 critical care to create a satisfied customer. 

 Even if there is no time to plant the trees 

 promptly upon arrival, they may be 

 "trenched" or "heeled in" and carried 

 safely through the winter ready to be 

 planted in the spring. 



