TOP-GRAFTING OLD TREES. 



chaser for its peculiar odor ; for the size and beauty 

 of the clusters were far inferior, and in my judgment 

 the quality is also. 



On the whole, the list is a very good one, and as 

 a guide to the inexperienced may be relied upon as 

 likely to give good satisfaction, not only in New 

 Jersey but over a much wider area. Following 

 my experience with all the varieties named — and 

 many more — I should change the positions of some, 

 eliminate some, and substitute others in their 

 places. For instance, I should take Jefferson out 

 entirely, because of its unreliability. I felt quite 

 certain it would prove a decided acquisition when 

 first introduced, but I have never yet been able to 

 get a decent cluster to ripen. Before that period 

 arrives it invariably mildews and bursts so as to be 

 absolutely worthless. I would put Rogers' 32 next 

 to the Delaware, Lindley next to that, and move 

 Agawam down to the foot. I am not certain but 

 with a good season I should put Berckmans next 

 to Brighton, and perhaps make some other changes 

 further down. 



In the whites, I would move Niagara up to the 

 head, a position it is justly entitled to in an equal 

 contest with all the others. Pocklington I would 

 send down to the foot or very near it. El Dorado, 

 Erentiss and Duchess, in point of quality or flavor 

 alone, would stand next to or before Niagara, but the 

 poor setting of the first, the lack of hardiness in 

 the second, and the extreme tendency to rot in the 

 third, place them far down in the list, and possibly 

 some other whites on trial will before long take 

 their places entirely. I had hoped that the Em- 

 pire State would have done this before now, but its 



promises have not been fulfilled on my grounds. 

 The Lady and Martha will have to answer as 

 apologies for early sweet white grapes till some- 

 thing better takes their places. Their tendency to 

 crack and decay on approaching maturity render 

 them of little value. As a late white. Lady Wash- 

 ington would doubtless stand higher in my estimate, 

 if I were more favorably located. 



In the list of black ones, I would put Worden be- 

 fore Moore's for its quality, but the latter is good ; 

 in fact, the first four may stand as they do in the 

 order of their ripening, and Barry (Rogers' 43), 

 Herbert (44), Merrimac (19) and Aminia (39), may 

 well replace the last half of the list. 



The reader will please understand that these 

 views are based entirely on a family use basis. 

 Grapes to eat and grapes that are good enough for 

 my family consumption I consider good enough to 

 sell to other people for the same purpose. At the 

 same time my list comprises some of the most 

 profitable varieties for market purposes. 



The Champion has no other merit beyond its 

 value as a commercial grape. If I grew it for that 

 purpose I should not put my name on the pack- 

 ages. For the same reason I should not brand my 

 Ives if I marketed them in the unripe condition 

 in which they are generally thrown on the market, 

 but when fully ripened and well grown no one need 

 be ashamed of the ownership. I have eaten fine 

 looking Duchess purchased on the market that were 

 too sour to be eaten without making a wry face, 

 but the fault was with the grower, not the grape, 

 and this avaricious spirit is the worst foe to a good 

 market and good prices. 



New Jc7-SL-y, E. Williams. 



TOP-GRAFTING OLD TREES. 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW TOP. 



April is early enough, in the northern states, for 

 grafting out of doors. It is only those who make 

 top-grafting a business who need to begin in the 

 raw days of March. In fact, the ideal time for out 

 of door grafting is when the leaves are beginning 

 to show. The juices of the plant are then moving 

 freely and scions are sure to grow if set with ordi- 

 nary care. Even after the leaves are fully formed, 

 old trees may be grafted, but the growth of the 

 scion is apt to be less than if it is set earlier in the 

 season. I recollect having grafted an old and 

 large apple tree one Fourth of July. The scions 

 lived, but the growth was slight. It is not generally 



known that the longitudinal growth of trees usually 

 ceases or becomes very slow by the first of July, 

 even in the northernmost states. 



The greatest difficulty connected with the graft- 

 ing of old trees is the proper shaping of the new 

 top. At best, this new top is apt to be an un- 

 handy one. Each scion soon takes on a branch- 

 ing habit after the manner of a small tree-top, and 

 even though it may be pruned into a narrow. com- 

 pass, it always eventually occupies more room 

 than an ordinary branch. For this reason, only a 

 part of the branches of the old top can be grafted, 

 and the new top has fewer low and secondary 



