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CASSELL'S POPULAE GARDENING. 



data for a iDedigree book. The latter is invaluable, 

 as furnishing a key to constitution and quality, and 

 adds immensely to the interest and pleasure, and it 

 may be profit, of raising new and superior Apples 

 from seeds. 



The sowing of these carefully prepared seeds 

 need differ but little from those of the more com- 

 mon varieties for stocks, but the treatment of the 

 seedlings must be widely different. There are two 

 ways of hurrying forward seedling Apples to prove 

 themselves as speedily as possible ; one, and the 

 most obvious, is to grow them as swiftly as possible 

 in fairly good, but not over-rich, soil, leaving the 

 seedlings full length and size till they fi-uit. The 

 other and the swifter method is to graft the toj) of 

 the seedlings so soon as large enough to form a 

 scion on to a French Paradise or other dwarfing 

 stock, or into a fertile tree in full bearing. The 

 scion will be so far controlled by the fertile stock as 

 to be compelled to fruit considerably sooner than if 

 left on its own roots. There is yet another means of 

 forcing fertility. Eoot-prune the seedlings some- 

 what severely at the end of the first or second year's 

 growth, leaving the tops intact. This severe check 

 will throv/ the top into fruit. These first fruits 

 may not form a fair test of size, but they will give a 

 fair measure of quality, and as such will form a 

 guide to the selection of the more promising seed- 

 lings. 



A rough-and-ready selection is often made fi'om 

 the character of the seedlings and the size and form 

 of the leaves. Seedlings with thorny stems and those 

 with narrow and sharp-pointed leaves are mostly 

 worthless. The broader, shorter, and rounder the 

 leaves, the better the prospect of quality among the 

 seedling Apples. These, however, are mere i^relimi- 

 nary tests ; the others already pointed out are more 

 trustworthy. Of course, the seedlings not good 

 enough to grow may still be headed back and grafted 

 or budded in the usual way. 



The seeds of Crabs, Codlins, Nonsuches, &c., and 

 Cider Apples are those most used for raising stocks. 

 Careful growers select the finest Crabs, and those 

 from the North of Europe were at one time preferred 

 to those of English growth, as being more likely to 

 impart vigour and hardiness to the constitution of 

 the Apples worked on them. Be that as it may, 

 there can be no question that stocks and trees alike 

 might be considerably improved were more attention 

 bestowed on the selection of Apple-seeds for stocks. 

 The refuse of the cider-press is hardly the most pro- 

 mising field for hunting for prime seed for Apple 

 stocks. By sowing the finer seeds of our best 

 culinary and dessert Apples, the stocks would be 

 more closely assimilated to the character of the 

 scions worked on them, and the permanent trees 



would probably be invigorated and improved in 

 consequence of a more discriminating selection of 

 seeds for stocks. 



Seed-saving and Sowing. — This is done by 

 wholesale and retail. Those whose object is to 

 raise improved varieties from seeds mostly sow the 

 seeds so soon as the Apples are eaten, or very soon 

 afterwards. Such small sowings are better made in 

 pots. Cover the seeds half or three-quarters of an 

 inch deep with light soil, and place in a cool house 

 or fi-ame. In any case the seeds of Apples should 

 not be kept out of the ground more than a few 

 months, as they soon lose their vitality. Time may 

 be saved in the growth of the seedlings, and their 

 greater safety insured, by sowing in pots in the 

 autmnn or early spring, carefully numbeidng or 

 naming each sort at the time of sowing. So soon as 

 large enough to handle, pot off singly and nurse up 

 under glass until well established, when they may 

 be planted out ; or the seedlings may be grown in 

 pots in the orchard or green-house until proA-ed. 



The raising of seeds wholesale for stocks is per- 

 formed in a more rough-and-ready manner. The 

 seeds collected fi'om the cider and vinegar presses are 

 washed and dried, and sown in the open air so soon 

 in the spring as practicable. They may either be 

 sown in three or four-feet beds, or in drills about 

 nine inches apart and an inch deep. If the former 

 they must be covered with an inch or so of fine soil. 

 The soil in which the seeds are sown should also be 

 light and rich, a sandy loam well dressed a few 

 months before with well- decomposed manure being 

 the most suitable. The sweeter, finer, and within 

 certain limits the richer the ground, the faster and 

 stronger will the seedlings grow. 



The seeds should be sown thinly, as, if of fair 

 quality, almost every one will grow, and overcrowd- 

 ing, whether in rows or beds, is a great source of 

 weakness ; so injurious is it, in fact, that it is well 

 to thin out the smaller plants in showery weather, 

 and only leave the best for a crop ; but it is best to 

 prevent overcrowding by thin seeding. 



Should all go well, the seedlings will be fit for 

 lining out at the end of the year's growth. The 

 process may be performed either in November or 

 February. Rows thirty inches or a yard apart, with 

 the plants from fifteen to twenty inches asunder in 

 the rows, will afford room for their vigorous deve- 

 lopment to working size. Seedlings for young 

 standards for orchards may have wider intervals be- 

 tween the rows ; and some, to economise space and 

 afford more room for working among the plants, 

 plant them in double rows eighteen inches apart, at 

 intervals of four or five feet asunder. 



This, however, may be called the once-plant 



