Agriculture is the most healthful , the most useful , and the most noble employment of man. —Washington 
VOL. IV. NEW YORK, FEBRUARY, 1845. NO. li 
A. B. Allen, Editor. 
ROOT-GRAFTING. 
After reading this article, every farmer can easily 
provide himself with an orchard of the choicest fruit, 
nnd without other cost than a little of his own labor; 
for he has only to procure a few apple seeds and sow 
them, and then do his grafting in the winter evenings, 
when there is scarce anything else to occupy his 
attention. 
Root-grafting is now more generally practised than 
tree-grafting, for the following reasons. 1. It is 
stronger than budding, and the scions have as straight 
and handsome a growth of trunk as seedlings. 2. A 
tree may be brought to bear from one to two years 
sooner by this method. 3. It can be done in the win¬ 
ter as well as the spring, a season when the nursery¬ 
men are least employed. 4. Three times the number 
of trees can be thus obtained from the same stock. 
Preparing the Seed. —Take apple-pommace at the 
cider mill, and transport it to any place ' near where 
it is desired to plant the seeds, and spread it on the 
ground. Then turn it over with a rake or pitchfork, 
and gather the principal part of the straw from it, 
leaving the pommace in beds not more than 1| to 2 
feet thick. If left thicker, or much straw remains in 
it, the pommace heaps are liable to ferment and de¬ 
stroy the vitality of the seeds. Leave it in this state 
all winter, without covering. If the seed is to be ob¬ 
tained from any great distance, it must be washed 
clean, thoroughly dried, and then packed in a box for 
transportation. 
Planting .—The soil should be of reasonable fer¬ 
tility, and free from springs or standing water; in¬ 
deed, it is better to have it too dry than too wet. As 
soon as the frost is out of the ground, plow, harrow, 
and prepare the land where the apple seeds are to be 
planted, the same as for a good crop of corn. Now 
stretch a garden cord any length required, take a noe 
Hi nand, as you walk forward, let it be drawn behind 
Saxton & Miles, Publishers, 205 Broadway. 
you, straight with the line, and about one inch deep 
in the ground. This makes a drill 6 inches wide, 
and deep enough for planting the seeds. Into this 
scatter the pommace, an inch thick, and then cover it 
over with the hoe, about an inch deep. The drills 
should be from 3 to 4 feet apart, according as one has 
more or less ground to spare. The latter distance is 
best, because it gives more room between the rows to 
work the plow or cultivator, to stir the eaith, and 
keep the weeds down, if the trees come up thicker 
in the rows than wheat or rye usually does after sow¬ 
ing, they should be thinned out by pulling up what¬ 
ever is necessary, and thrown away, as they will 
hardly repay the trouble of transplanting. 
After Culture. —This may be the sama as with a 
crop of corn. It is very important to stir the earth, 
and keep it loose, for the better spreading of the 
apple tree roots; also to check the weeds, otherwise 
they will choke the growth of the trees, and frequent¬ 
ly overshadow and kill them. 
Diseases and Insects. —Apple trees the first and 
second years, are very subject to mildew, the at¬ 
tacks of lice, and a small green fly, which often do 
them great injury, by checking their growth. For 
the destruction of the first, we recommend strewing 
lime and charcoal, mixed in equal quantities, along 
each side of the rows of the seedlings; and for the 
second, sprinkle snuff* all over the leaves, or a mix¬ 
ture of sulphur, soot, and fish oil. 
If in a good soil, and well taken care of, the trees 
will grow from 2 to 3 feet high the first season. 
Treat them the second year in the same way as the first. 
Taking up and Securing the Trees. —If the trees 
have had a good growth the first season, they will 
be large enough the following winter for grafting ; if 
not, they must remain till the second fall. To pre¬ 
pare them for grafting they should be taken up be¬ 
fore the ground freezes. To do this with facility, 
