The National Nurseryman. 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK. 
Copyright, 1899, by tha National Nuraeryman Publishing Co. 
“ The temple of commerce is svpported by columns of advertising.” 
Vol. VII. ROCHESTER, N. Y., DECEMBER, 1899. . No. 11. 
A SKEPTIC CONVINCED. 
An Instance In the Investigation of the Stringfellow Method of 
Root Pruning—Henrf E. Dosch, State Commissioner of Horti¬ 
culture of Oregon, Finds Short Root Method of Planting 
Nursery Trees at the North Successful—Other Tests. 
In view of the general opinion that the method of root-prun¬ 
ing advocated by H. M. Stringfellow, Lampasas, Tex., is not 
adapted to the northern sections of the United States it is of 
interest to cite recent experiments as far north as Oregon. 
The method proposed is to cut off all the roots of a young tree 
at transplanting time, leaving only a naked stub of say two 
inches in length, and to set this in a dibble hole. Mr. String- 
fellow’s claim is that the new root system resulting from this 
treatment will be a strong, vigorous, perpendicular growth of 
lusty, large-diametered roots, heading straight down for the 
moist depths of the subsoil, instead of a network of fine, capil¬ 
lary, surface rootlets, matted horizontally within a few inches 
of the ground. These roots, penetrating deeply, will safely 
anchor the tree, and-in a year’s time produce a better growth 
of top than would result from the roots left intact at transplant¬ 
ing. It is evident, further, that considerable labor would be 
saved in setting. 
Henry E. Dosch, of Oregon, superintendent of the Oregon 
agricultural and horticultural exhibit at the Chicago World’s 
Fair, winning the highest prize, for which he received a vote 
of thanks from both branches of the legislature, is the state 
commissioner of horticulture and is widely known throughout 
the Northwest as probably the ablest all-round horticultural 
writer and experimenter in that section of the United States. 
He says: 
“ Some five years ago my attention was called to this new 
method of root pruning in planting trees. I was incredulous, 
as it upset all time honored teachings; yet as the article in 
question was from such a man as J. H. Hale, saying he had 
just planted 100,000 peach trees in his Georgia orchard in that 
way, I had to take it for granted that the Stringfellow method 
was the correct one. 
“ This method of pruning away practically all the roots of a 
young tree before planting it, seems to be finding an increasing 
number of advocates, though it runs so exactly counter to the 
established practice and teaching of generations of orchardists 
that conservative people find it difficult to believe the favora¬ 
ble reports of it which they see in print. Having been taught 
all our lives the necessity for keeping the root system of a 
young tree as nearly intact as possible when moving it from 
the nursery to the orchard, it gives one a shock to be told that 
it would be better to cut it away entirely. 
“ The advocates of this system claim that with trees so 
treated, the new roots, springing direct from the crown and 
short stubs, assume a more natural position and strike down 
more deeply into the soil than when a tree is set in the usual 
way; and consequently the tree is more vigorous and longer 
lived. Again, they point to the undoubted fact that the new 
plan is much the cheaper and it reduces to a minimum the dan¬ 
ger of spreading ali kinds of insect pests and fungous diseases, 
such as scale, root lice, black knot, root rot, etc. Less care 
would also be required in digging trees, and a good share of 
roots and tops could be cut away before shipping, thus saving 
in boxing and freight, while the digging of large holes could be 
entirely dispensed with, as the tree, whittled to a neat stub, in 
properly prepared soil, could be simply shoved into the ground 
or planted in a dibble hole like a cutting. 
“At the Fruit Growers’ Convention held in La Fayette, Ore., 
in the summer of 1895, 1 called attention to this method and 
urged those present to experiment along this line and report 
results, but the very idea was hooted at by our most advanced 
horticulturists and nurserymen, so I dropped the matter, having 
resolved, however, to give the method a thorough trial myself, 
and prove either its correctness or failure, under our climate 
and soil conditions. 
“ For this purpose I procured fifty trees, one, two, and three 
years old, of pears, apples, prunes, plums and cherries, 
grafted on different kinds of roots. I did this to give the 
method a thorough and complete trial, and if possible see 
whether one or the other roots would do better ; also if the 
age of the trees made any difference. I then cut away every 
root, leaving but three inches—-less would have been better— 
on the stubs and removed every little fibre, so they were per¬ 
fectly bare; the tops were cut off to 30 inches in height, all 
alike, and set in two rows, three feet apart in the row and five 
feet between the rows. 
“ The first year the trees made but a few inches growth, which 
I attributed, and correctly so, to the fact they were growing 
roots ; yet I had my fears, as my soil is a heavy, stubborn, clay 
soil, underlaid with hard pan, and a very dry season followed. 
I hoed and cultivated them the same as I would have done if 
planted in the orchard but when fall came I had about con¬ 
cluded it was a failure and paid no farther attention to them. 
“ The following spring, when preparing my garden where they 
were planted, I started to pull them up, when, to my surprise, I 
could not do it. Upon examining the little things, I noticed 
the buds were swelling, so I concluded to allow them to 
remain, giving them the same treatment as before ; and when 
they did begin to grow I thought they never would stop ; the 
prune trees grew eight, and the apple and pear trees three and 
four feet. 
“ The fruit growers’ convention met that year in July in New- 
berg, to which I took a number of these trees to show the 
results of my experiment, and naturally, like myself, all 
present were very much astonished, but the proofs admitted 
of no argument. The most surprising fact of all was, not the 
large top growth these trees made, but the perfect root system 
