568 
and dry. For (as Mr. Boyle observes) the air is the cause of putrefaction; and, in order to prove 
this, that honourable person put fruits of several kinds into glasses where the air was exhausted, 
in which places they remained sound for several months, but, upon being exposed to the air, rotted 
in a very short time after; which plainly shews the absurdity of the common method now used to 
preserve fruit. 
All the sorts of Apples are propagated by grafting or budding upon the stocks of the samekind, 
for they will not take upon any other sort of fruit tree. In the nurseries there are three sorts of 
stocks generally used to graft Apples upon: the first are called free stocks; these are raised from the 
kernels of all sorts of Apples indifferently, and sometimes they are also termed Crab stocks; for all 
those trees which are produced from the seeds before they are grafted, are termed Crabs without any 
distinction; but, I should always prefer such stocks as are raised from the kernels of Crabs, where 
they are pressed for verjuice; and I find several of the old writers on this subject of the same mind. 
Mr. Austen, who wrote above a hundred years ago, says, “ The stock which he accounts best for 
Apple grafts is the Crab, which is better than sweeter Apple-trees to graft on, because they are 
usually free from canker, and will become very large trees; and, I conceive, will last longer than 
stocks of sweeter Apples, and will make fruits more strong and hardy to endure frost ;”and it is very 
certain, that by frequently grafting some sorts of Apples upon free stocks, the fruits have been ren¬ 
dered less firm and poignant, and of shorter duration. 
The second sort of stock is the Dutch Paradise Apple, or Creeper; these are designed to stint the 
growth of the trees, and keep them within compass for dwarfs or espaliers. 
The third sort is the Paradise Apple, which is a very low shrub, and only proper for trees which 
are kept in pots, by way of curiosity, for these do not continue long. 
Some persons have made use of Codlin stocks for grafting Apples, in order to stint their growth; 
but as these are commonly propagated by suckers, I would by no means advise the using them; nor 
would I choose to raise the Codlin-trees from suckers, but rather graft them upon Crab stocks, 
which will cause the fruit to be firmer, last longer, and have a sharper flavour; and these trees will 
last much longer sound, and never put out suckers, as the Codlins always do, which, if not con¬ 
stantly taken off, will weaken the trees, and cause them to canker: and it is not only from the roots, 
but from the knots of their stems, there are generally a great number of strong shoots produced, 
which fill the trees with useless shoots, and render them unsightly, and the fruit small and 
crumpled. 
The method of raising stocks from the kernels of Crabs, or Apples, is, to procure them where 
they are pressed for verjuice or cyder, and after they are cleared of the pulp, they may be sown upon 
a bed of light earth, covering them over about half an inch thick with the same light earth; these 
may be sown in November or December, where the ground is dry, but in wet ground, it will be 
better to defer it till February: but then the seeds should be preserved in dry sand, and kept out of 
the reach of vermin, for if mice or rats can get at them, they will devour the seeds; there should 
also be care taken of the seeds, when they are sown, to protect them from these vermin, by setting 
traps to take them, See. In the spring, when the plants begin to appear, they must be carefully 
weeded, and if the season should prove dry, it will be of great service to water them two or three 
times a week; and, during the summer, they must be kept clean from weeds, which, if suffered to 
grow, will soon over-top the plants, and spoil their growth; if these thrive well, they will be fit to 
transplant into the nursery the October following, at which time the ground should be carefully 
digged, and cleansed from the roots of all bad weeds: then the stocks should be planted in rows 
three feet asunder, and the plants one foot distance in the rows, closing the earth pretty fast to their 
roots; when the stocks are transplanted out of the seed-bed, the first autumn after sowing, they need 
