1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
67 
pounds several weeks sooner than the lot fed on 
whole grain. Some of the time, the gain was made 
at less cost by those fed on whole grain. The nearer 
the birds approached maturity, the greater the cost 
in either case. In another experiment with capons 
from chicks hatched under hens, the ground grain 
ration apparently gave the greater profit for the 
whole time, as those thus fed reached maturity sooner 
than those fed whole grain. Some of these capons 
are shown at Fig. 26. 
TOP-GRAFT OR SET NEW TREES. 
I have a large orchard of about 700 apple trees, which came into 
my possession a few years ago. Among them are a large 
number of thrifty trees of too many valueless varieties, 
which I wish were something else—Baldwins, for instance. 
Would I better graft them to what I want, or would I re¬ 
alize greater and quicker returns from the ground they 
occupy, to remove them root and branch and set young 
trees of the varieties desired ? a. a. t. 
Columbia County, N. Y. 
/ Would Certainly Graft. 
It is expensive to graft large trees, and equally 
so to remove them root and branch. If the 
trees are thrifty and vigorous, not too old, and 
G. A. T. graft them, he will have, in three or 
four years, trees that will bear him fruit, and 
still correspond in size to the ungrafted ones in 
his orchard. If he remove these valueless varie¬ 
ties, and plant such sorts as he desires, he will 
have an orchard of un-uniform size and appear¬ 
ance, with a full crop of fruit from them, in the 
distant future. If he graft them, he should 
alternate his rows, i. e., one of Baldwins, as 
he suggests, and the adjoining one of some 
standard variety that bears fruit every year, 
say Greenings, and by the way, don’t neglect 
either to graft or set to Greenings to some 
extent. If he graft, let him, when the proper 
time arrives, remove the original growth care¬ 
fully and judiciously, so as to leave the main 
limbs partially shaded from the direct rays of 
a hot summer sun, until such time as the grow¬ 
ing grafts afford the necessary protection. As 
I understand his case, I would certainly graft. 
The condition of the trees as to health and vigor 
will have much to do with the success of the work. 
Ulster County, N. Y. a. w. williams. 
Make the Most of the Old Trees. 
G. A. T. fails to state the age of the trees now in 
his orchard, also the treatment they have received, 
and their present health and thriftiness. These are 
all factors to be considered when planning treatment 
for best results. If many of the trees are old, have 
been neglected, and are not thrifty, it would be best 
to set another piece of ground with young trees. It 
is not desirable to reset the same ground with an 
orchard, without several years’ rotation of grain or 
grass crops. 
While the 
young orchard 
is coming into 
bearing, the old 
one may be 
greatly im¬ 
proved by judic¬ 
ious pruning, 
culture and fer¬ 
tilizing. Even 
if the varieties 
are not such as 
are in all cases 
desirable, it 
will pay to give 
proper care,and 
the old trees 
will soon re- . 
spoil d to gener¬ 
ous treatment. 
They will yield 
an income while 
the young or¬ 
chard is coining- 
into bearing. If 
these 700 trees 
are less than'25 
years old, or 
are healthy, vigorous trees, even if a little more 
than that age, they may be top-worked to advantage. 
Care should be taken to set the grafts as low down in 
the tree as possible, else the tendency will be to have 
the fruit so far from the ground as to make gathering 
difficult. In some cases, it would be advisable to thin 
the tops severely, and care for the sprouts that would 
start near the head of the tree. The next Spring, 
these could be grafted, and a well-balanced top secured 
near the ground. The top that was not cut out would 
crop and yield some return while the grafts were 
growing. By gradually removing the_olfl limbs, the 
tops might be changed without the entire loss of a 
single crop. w. d. barns. 
Orange County, N. Y. 
Mr. S. D. Willard’s Advice. 
From my own experience, I would most assuredly 
top-graft the trees referred to. It costs time and 
money to grow up a thrifty young apple orchard, and 
it’s a mistaken notion to destroy the old ones, and 
wait to grow up others. Were the trees my own, I 
should cut out and graft on a portion, say six or eight 
of the branches, from the inside of the trees, the com¬ 
ing Spring, and the remainder in the two seasons fol- 
.TAPAN GOLDEN RUSSET PEAR. Fig. 27, 
lowing. The shock to the tree is too great when the 
entire top is removed at once, and works an injury 
from which the tree often never recovers; this is 
avoided when it is done gradually, and the remaining 
branches are left to carry the sap until the new 
growth from the grafts is in a condition to take its 
share of sap. After years of experience, this seems 
to me the wise plan to pursue. Again, the opinion is 
rapidly gaining ground that productiveness is often 
increased by grafting one variety upon another. If 
this be true, then this is another strong argument in 
favor of this method of making an orchard. There 
are many varieties that I have found that do well 
How to Prune for Grafting. 
If the trees are not too old, it will pay to regraft 
them. If the topping be properly done, and grafts be 
put in right, all should live and, in three or four years, 
the trees would come into full bearing, and would bear 
in four or six years as much as though they had not 
been grafted. If the trees are too large and old, it 
would, of course, be more difficult to graft, and perhaps 
would not pay. In cutting off the limbs for grafting, the 
first to be cut is the center branch, or one directly 
over the body. This should be sawed off as low down 
as it can be, and not be over 2>£ to three inches in 
diameter. From this center, cut off the limbs all 
around it, cutting each limb a little ,ower down 
than the center limb. Then take the next lot of 
branches still nearer the outside, cutting them 
off a little lower down, and soon until the top is 
all cut off and grafted, cutting off only those 
branches to be grafted, leaving the rest, which 
will be small, to keep up circulation. When the 
tree is topped off in this way, and the grafts 
grow, the tree will be very round and symmet¬ 
rical, and no graft will grow up through any 
others. Each graft will grow up in its own 
place, and in a few years, a vigorous, produc¬ 
tive orchard may be had, providing proper 
cultivation and feeding be given the orchard, 
such as all orchards should have. 
Connecticut. edwin iioyt. 
When Will Grafted Trees Bear ? 
As the opinion prevails among orchardists 
that it does not pay to reset trees where vacan¬ 
cies occur in a bearing orchard of middle age oi 
older, I think it would be far better to graft 
the trees to such varieties as he desires, provided 
these trees are thrifty, and can be cut back so as 
to form good heads. It would, probably take 
two years, at least, to do the grafting neces¬ 
sary, as it will not do to remove too many of the 
branches in any one season. I have grafted 
trees more than 20 years old with perfect suc¬ 
cess, but very much depends upon whether one 
has smooth, thrifty wood in which to set the 
grafts. The grafted trees should begin to bear 
in from three to five years from the time of grafting. 
Dutchess County, N. Y. waltkr f. tabek. 
A LEAF OF THE JAPAN GOLDEN RUSSET PEAR. Fig. 28. See Ruralisms, Page 7 0. 
when thus grown; Baldwin, Hubbarston Nonsuch, 
Sutton Beauty and Ben Davis are among the num¬ 
ber. But whatever variety G. A. T. desires to grow, 
he will, in my opinion, find this a desirable method of 
producing them. If he will obtain his scions during 
the Winter, pack them in damp sawdust in boxes, 
and put them away in an ice-house where they 
can be kept perfectly dormant, they will be in condi¬ 
tion to use until quite late in the season, should he 
find it necessary to do his grafting after other Spring 
work has been done, which I often find necessary. 
Ontario County, N. Y» 8, D, willard. 
Protect Grafts from Plant Lice. 
If the trees mentioned are not over 15 years of age, 
and are in a thrifty condition, they may be top-grafted 
with profit, provided it be done properly. Much ex¬ 
perience is called for in rightly balancing the top, and 
in knowing how largely the branches may be cut away. 
It is sufficient in case of a tree under eight years 
planted, to set all the grafts at once, leaving a few 
lower branches to be cut away the following year. 
These branches are needed for elaborating the sap. 
Older trees re - 
quire, at least, 
two years for 
regrafting. If 
the top is bal¬ 
anced, graft the 
south side the 
first year, or if 
not balanced, 
the leading 
side, and set 
nearly two- 
thirds the first 
season. Y oung 
grafts suffered 
greatly the 
past season, 
from plant lice, 
and if prev¬ 
alent this year, 
the shoots 
should be 
treated prompt¬ 
ly, or the trees 
will be injured 
beyond repair. 
Trees reset in 
an older or¬ 
chard seldom 
repay the cost, as they cannot receive the same atten¬ 
tion as a young orchard would, and the orchard spe¬ 
cialist will soon do away with all profit in orchards 
which are not grown and managed with the greatest 
economy and skill, so that we must prepare, in future, 
to grow fine fruit or none, at a minimum cost. 
Dutchess County, N. Y. w. h. hart. 
R. N.-Y.—-It seems to us that G. A. T. would do well 
to visit some successful orchardist in his vicinity, 
whose soil and surroundings are similar to his own, 
and from him get valuable information as to methods 
and varieties. Local conditions have great influence, 
