344 
CHAPTER IE 
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0 fthe Seedling and the Cutting—Of Seeds—Of the Young Plants in the 
Nursery—And how to Quicken their Growth. 
\Vith a view to, raise fine orchards, one should make use of 
the seedling. From the very large apple trees, which were 
formerly to be seen in this island, it is sufficiently plain, that 
our ancestors had the good sense of not grafting them on any 
Other stocks. I have often observed some of those apple trees 
in my youth, whose trunks were above two feet in diameter; 
and an old orchard, now the property of Mr. George Ingon- 
ville, at a place called the Coie, near St. Helier’s, can still 
give an idea of the superiority of that practice over that of 
prppagating by means qf cuttings. 
The cutting is generally small and badly conformed, being 
old from its birth, and as a production of art, inheriting the 
defects of the tree of which it once made a part. The seedling 
being the offspring qf nature, is vigorous and full of youth, 
and displays in all its appearance the richness and luxuriance 
of vegetation. 
The pernicious custom of cleft grafting on the cutting at six 
inches from the ground, and sometimes at less, contributes to 
make it still \yeaker. This fatal operation seldom fails to 
communicate the canker to the root, which is already disposed 
to contract this mortal disease, and this is another reason why 
the tree should last so little, and should be so often blown 
down by the high winds. 
Such persons as give it the preference, say, that it bears 
sooner ; biit this is doubtful. It is, however, certain, that the 
seedlipg when cpme to its full gfowth, considering its advan¬ 
tageous size, will often give more fruit in one year, than the 
cutting would produce in many: still it may be remarked, 
that the deficiency of individual size in cuttings, can easily be 
made up by their greater numbers. This notion probably 
draws many proprietors into an erroneous practice, which it 
may not be improper to examine here cursorily. 
Let us suppose that cuttings were planted 5 double the num¬ 
ber of what seedlings would have been, and that each of them 
k should 
