PROPAGATION. 
19 
Judgment should also be exercised in the election of parents. Little 
good, for instance, could be expected from the intermixture of apples of 
such widely different qualities as the Eibston and the Beaufin, the French 
Crab and the Blenheim orange, while the crossing of the Golden Pippin 
and Devonshire Quarrendon, Cox’s Orange Pippin with the Eibston or 
Golden Pippin, and the Kerry Pippin with the King of the Pippins could 
hardly fail of good results. Again, the qualities of the Eibston might be 
imparted to our earlier and late apples by skilful intercrossing, while 
our kitchen apples might be further sweetened by Eibston Pippin, 
Nonpareil, and other good dessert blood to such an extent as to need 
little or no sugar in tarts or pies. Already we have a fine kitchen apple 
that almost realises the necessary sweetness in the Cellini. The raising 
of apples from seeds with a view of obtaining new and improved varieties 
thus requires a good deal of nice manipulation and painstaking skill. But 
care and skill only give zest to a delightful pursuit, as well as add to the 
pleasures of success, and when they are taken they promise the cultivator 
a fair amount of success. A note of the proceeding should be made on 
the plants, and also in a book. Thus Eibston Pippin x with Blenheim 
Orange, Cellini X with Eibston Pippin, &c. Such data will prove of much 
interest to the raisers of new apples, and also possess a high scientific 
value in determining the potency of certain varieties and the success or 
failure of our attempted crosses. Without some such record the whole 
theory and practice of artificial impregnation become a mere maze or 
game of chance. It is also important to choose healthy parents on both 
sides. It is probable that canker and other diseases in fruit trees are 
hereditary; and it is better to steer clear of all disease and of constitu¬ 
tional weaknesses in the raising of new varieties of apples and other fruits. 
Pedigree also often proves a useful key to treatment and a guide to 
culture; and, for this reason also, careful notes should be made as to 
the origin of all new varieties. Some raisers adopt a somewhat rough- 
and-ready method of proving seedlings. All that have narrow leaves are 
at once used for stocks. Experience shows that nearly the whole of such 
are closely related to crabs, sour and worthless. On the contrary, broad¬ 
leaved seedlings yield a large percentage of sweet and good apples. The 
rounder the leaf the more chance of quality. This is a simple rule, and 
may safely be acted upon. There is another sign almost equally, per¬ 
haps more, certain—the presence of thorns on the trees is generally a sure 
proof of acidity or sheer worthlessness. Eound leaves and few or no 
spines combined promise quality, though they may not always give it. 
Of course, little of this care is needed to raise seedling apples from 
crabs. Nonsuch, or other seeds for stocks. Crabs and cider apples are 
still much used for the stocks of apples for orchards. The seeds are 
. c 2 
