i86 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
Ver}’ few cherr}^ stocks are grown in America. What few 
are grown from the seed are the Mahaleb. To a limited 
extent IVIarianna stock is growm from cuttings. The Mahaleb 
seedlings are used almost exclusively in the eastern and middle 
states. They are imported mostly from France. Mazzard 
cheny" stocks are used considerably on the Pacific Coast but 
they cannot stand severe weather like the Mahalebs. The 
foliage also is not as good as the Mahaleb. The season for 
budding the Mazzard is short. Fully 8o to 85 per cent of 
cherry stock used is Mahaleb; perhaps 15 per cent of the 
remainder is Mazzard. One nursery is trying out some 
Mazzard this year by^grafting. These were planted in a 
southern state. 
8. What is the best treatment to give cherry seed 
collected at home in order to get them to grow? How keep 
from sprouting or drying out during the summer? 
Very few native cherry seed are used for the reason that 
they make trees that sprout badly. Where Mahaleb seed are 
grown they are gathered from the trees, the pulp washed off 
before they sour or become decayed, and the seed immediately 
packed away in sand. In the old countries where they are 
mostly collected the seeds are buried rather deeply in the 
ground under the shade of a tree. If the seeds are kept 
moist and cool it seems there is no danger of their sprouting 
that season. When winter comes they are usually taken up 
and stratified in boxes of sand in the usual way and put out¬ 
side so they can freeze and thaw as often as they will until 
planting time in the spring. 
9. How best to treat home grown peach seeds? 
These may be treated in either one of several ways. On 
a small scale, or a large one either for that matter, they may 
be planted in the fall where they are expected to grow for 
budding purposes. They may be mixed with sand and placed 
in boxes, set on top of the ground on the north side of a build¬ 
ing throughout the winter. They must be kept moist so 
they will freeze. They may also be piled up in shallow pits 
and covered over with sand or a thin layer of earth. Here 
they are kept moist and will freeze. In the spring after they 
have begun to sprout they are taken up and planted. Some 
of the largest nruserymen treat their peach seeds by keeping 
them in dry storage dining the winter and then in spring they 
are soaked for two weeks in barrels of water. This is done 
just previous to planting. Some recommend that the peach 
seeds be soaked for a week in late winter and then put down 
in moist sand until they have sprouted. In the south the 
seeds are generally planted in November. Peach pits in 
large quantities are collected from the native seedling trees of 
Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, the western part of the 
Carolinas and Virginia and latterly from the mountain dis¬ 
tricts of Arkansas and Oklahoma. 
10. What plum stock is most used in this country— 
Marianna, Myrobolan, American, etc.? 
Myrobolan and Americana stocks are the ones principally 
used in this country; the Marianna is now used very little. 
In the Dakotas, Minnesota, Michigan and to some extent in 
Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and other northern states, the 
Americana stock is most largely used. In the south and east 
the Myrobolan is almost exclusively employed. Some j^ears 
ago Mariamia was used extensively but most nurseries have 
now abandoned it. Some say the Marianna is badly affected 
by borers. The Americana is used in the north because it 
alone is hardy enough to withstand the cold weather. 
11. Is all Marianna stock grown from cuttings, and how 
extensively is such stock grown and used in the United 
States ? 
Most nurserymen say they never knew of any Marianna 
stock being grown from the seed, all of it being produced from 
cuttings. Flowever, it has been suggested that there is one 
nursery located in a northern state that grows Marianna from 
the seed. This variety of plum rarely produces fruit in the 
middle west which probably accounts for stock not being 
grown from the seed. The Marianna grows very readily 
from the cuttings, however. It seems that Myrobolan stock 
can be purchased cheaper than the Marianna can be grown 
from the cuttings. The Marianna was popular a few years 
ago in the south but is not now. Perhaps only 5 per cent or 
less of plum stock now used is Marianna. 
12. Do we mostly import the Myrobolan seeds or seed¬ 
lings ? 
The seedlings seem to be almost exclusively imported. 
These come mostly from France although some are secured 
from Holland. 
13. Where is the most of our quince stock grown? How 
propagated? That is, from seeds, layers or cuttings? 
Perhaps the majority of our quince stock comes from 
France although some comes from England. There are two 
types or varieties—one being the French and the other the 
English. The foreign propagators grow quinces almost 
entirely from cuttings. They are grown to some extent from 
seed and to a very limited extent from layers. Quince will 
root very readily from cuttings in this country, particularly 
in the southern states, but the foliage of such stock is thought 
not to be as strong and vigorous as that of the French grown 
stock. The home grown stock has not proved to be as good 
for budding as the foreign grown. A big grower of stock in 
this country has tried quince seed but says they are very hard 
and unsatisfactory to make grow. He thinks very few 
quince are grown from the seed in this country. 
14. How are forest tree seeds treated previous to planting 
in order to secure best results in germination? 
It is not feasible to answer this in full as so many of the 
species of tree seeds require special treatment. Briefly, seeds 
such as the elm and soft maple which ripen early in the 
season should be planted at once. They must never be 
allowed to dry out. Ash seed may be planted either in the 
fall or early spring. If in spring, the seeds should be thor¬ 
oughly moistened and allowed to freeze or at least to remain 
in a cool place for 3 or 4 weeks previous to planting. The 
same treatment should be given to box elder seed. These are 
difficult to stratify in boxes throughout the winter as they 
begin growing in early spring before the ground will do to 
plant them. If planted in the fall they are too apt to come 
up so early that they will be frosted. Hard maple seed 
should receive the same treatment as ash. Black and honey 
locust seed are treated by soaking in warm water; the water 
for black locust seed should not be warmer than is perfectly 
comfortable for the hands. Pour the water over the seeds 
and let them stand over night; that is, 10 to 12 hours. Fol- 
