THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
187 
lowinj^ this all the se ds that arc swollen should be removed 
and planted. The remainder should be treated again, per¬ 
haps with slightly wanner water, and continue this until all 
show signs of softening by being swollen. Those that float or 
refuse to be softened are discarded. Honey locust seed may 
be treated with water as wann as 110° to start with but they 
will stand 10° more without being killed. Follow about the 
same plan as with the black locust—that is, taking out the 
swollen seed after 10 or 12 hours. Sometimes honey locust 
seed becomes so hardened that they have to be soaked in 
water of almost scalding temperature. Honey locust seed 
from Italy may usually be sufficiently soaked by using only 
warm water. It is our native honey locust seed that becomes 
so very hard. Some hard, bony seed are treated by pouring 
almost boiling water over them and allowing them to stand 
for about two hours or until cooled. The coffee bean seed is 
treated in this way. If the seed coat seems to be softened, 
plant the seeds immediately. Russian mulberries are 
gathered during summer and planted the next spring without 
any treatment. Catalpa speciosa are gathered in the fall 
and may be planted without treatment as soon as the soil is 
warm in the spring. 
15. »At what time of year, that is, approximate time in the 
month, do you think best results are secured in budding 
apples, pears, etc.? 
Of course in budding, dates will vary considerably accord¬ 
ing to latitude. The following are the principal dates men¬ 
tioned; Apples, June to September; pears, June to Septem¬ 
ber. In the middle west pears are budded in June and July. 
French stocks are budded in July while Japan stocks are 
usually budded through August and September; they may. 
be budded at other times. 
Cherry in the middle west is budded in August and Sep¬ 
tember although the extreme dates are from June until late 
September. Plums and peaches are usually budded through 
August and September but may be budded in June and July 
in the south. Quinces are budded in July and August 
mostly. 
In general all the above fruits are budded at the time when 
the bark peels best. Naturally this particular stage will vary 
greatly according to the season—that is, whether it is dry or 
wet; also the climate has something to do with the time of 
budding. In the south peaches are quite largely budded in 
June while in the north this would not be possible as the 
seedlings would not be large enough. In Missouri, which is 
centrally located, peach budding may begin the middle of 
June and continue until the middle of September, provided 
the summer is not too dry. Some big nurserymen have to 
begin as early as they can and continue as_late as possible in 
order to get through. *" 
16. About what date would you prefer to root-graft 
apple, pear, quince, etc.? 
Opinions vary considerably. Most nurserymen prefer to 
do their root-grafting in January and February; some say if 
the work is delayed until March good results may be secured, 
if the season is such that the grafts may be planted at once. 
One big nurseryman says: “Usually we find that the grafts 
made in early March and planted in mid-April do_the best, 
but if you have a lot of it to do, you must of course begin 
earlier.” It seems that it is best for apple grafts to be made 
early enough so that they may become thoroughly calloused 
while in storage before planting. If the work is done too late 
to permit of callousing then it seems best to jdant them at 
once and let them callous in the ground. 
17. If you were top-working apple or pear outdoors at 
what time would you prefer to do the work ? 
The time preferred is just before trees begin to grow in the 
spring. It seems that it is safest to begin a little too early 
rather than too late—that is, do not wait until after the trees 
have begun to put out their foliage. If very much top work¬ 
ing has to be done, the work should be commenced early 
enough so that it can be entirely finished before buds begin to 
open. 
18. What will usually be the age in months of ^plc, 
pear, etc., when budded? 
Peaches are budded either in June of the same year the 
seeds are planted, if June buds are grown, or in late summer 
or early fall of the same year seeds are planted. Of course, 
by June buds is meant those that are budded in June and tops 
cut off and buds allowed to grow that same season. By 
ordinary peach budding is meant trees budded in August but 
the tops are not cut off until the following spring. Apple 
stock for budding consists of seedlings grown one year, then 
transplant and budded the second season as soon as the bark 
will peel nicely. Pear, cherry and quince are generally 
handled in this way, therefore the stocks of these fruits will be 
from 16 to 17 months old when budded. Quince will be from 
18 to 20 months old. Nurserymen prefer to transplant apple 
stock as well as the others before budding in order to properly 
space the trees in the nursery rows; also they are said to make 
better root systems by being transplanted. 
19. Under normal conditions of soil and season what 
percentage of your piece-root apple grafts do you expect to 
get to grow ? Whole-root grafts ? 
Piece-root 50 to 75 per cent; whole-root 75 to 90 per cent. 
20. Under what conditions of soil, etc., do you consider 
whole-root apple grafts to be superior to the piece-root? 
There are different kinds of the so-called whole-root apple 
grafts—one kind being made from branched seedling roots; 
the other is made from seedlings with long, straight tap roots. 
They are all crown grafts. This is thought to be the chief 
advantage of the so-called whole-root grafts. The branched 
stocks are preferred. When these are used they are from five 
to eight inches long. If a straight seedling root is used it will 
usually be from seven to ten inches in length. The whole- 
root grafts, particularly those made from branched roots, arc 
thought to possess more vitality than the piece-root sorts. 
On this account they are expected to withstand adverse 
weather conditions better and therefore make a better stand. 
The whole-root grafts are thought to give a higher percentage 
of growth over the piece-root in dry soils or in dry seasons or 
in soils that are rather low in fertility. 
21. What percentage of your apple buds under nonnal 
conditions do you expect to take? 
On the average 75 to 80 per cent. Weather conditions 
have a good deal to do with this. 
^2 2. What points of superiority, if any, do budded apple 
and pear trees possess over the grafted ones ? 
