Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1857-10-17
From the Country Gentleman.
Grated and Natu rax

A good deal has been said in past years
against the bearing properties of root-grall-
ed apple trees. Out of hundreds of trins,
we never could discover any general differ
eace in this respect, between root grated on
the one hand and stock grated or bud,led,
on the other. More recently, and since our
late intense winters, the superior llnrdines,
of seedlings over grated or budded trees,
has been repeatedly asserted, and they have
been urged by some as worthy Of replacing
grated trees. On these two subjects, we
copy from the Pfairie Farmer, tho follow
ing remarks by 5. FOSTER, an intelligent and
observing nurseryman of MuScatine, Iowa,
which we think will interest our trut-grow-
ing readers, mere especially those in the
Western States:--
II have seen u great many Seeding apple
trees and some grated ones, although | am
not fifty years old. When | was a boy,
tree stnmps, over which the double tree of
the plow would pass-tne, large bearing
trees cut down. Why? Because they were
Improbable. Did they not cut down their
grated orchards, TOO? No, not one OF Them.
Why? Because ll!ey were profitable.
''Although truit was very abundant yet
the clsoicer kinds always brought profitable
prices. Choice fruit sometimes grows upon
Seeding trees; all our gratis are from seed
lings, but there is not one in a hundred,
scarcely in one thousand, that is worthy of
propagation.
"My father had more than 100 Seeding
trees, aud do not think there was single
variety equal to the poorest OF fifty varieties
we have grated in almost eve-y nursery
We ased to make large quantities. of cider.
1t was sour, Watery, mean stuff to drink
We sometimes made a few barrels from
sweet apples, one barrel of which was worth
two made from the mean sour apples. For
cider, | would have every tree grated, or
take the wise course of our fathers, and 'cut
them down.
"Fhe hog is not fool, lie has a sensible
taste. Ny father used to turn his hogs into
the orchard, and they had their regular
paths to the best truit-about one tree in
ten-!eaying the others untouched, unless
hunger was stronger than the unwholcsome
taste of the harl sour apple. Good apples
will tatteu hogs. Five hogs ran in tie Or
chard one season. The first half of their
fattening was almost entirely on apples
Their weight wa, from 1926 to COG pounds
each.
Tender and Hardy.-Your correspondent,
living, | think, near Lockport, IIs., repre-
sents seedlings as hardy, and CRAFTS as ten
der, to stand our cold winters Ny exper-
ience is, that some varieties of both Winl er-
kill, and many varieties of both are equally
hardy. Nearly all our gratis are natives of
our own country, and were once seedlings.
Is the Seeding tree which bears fine deli
cious fruit necessarily tender! by no means.
Does it become tender when taken from its
native tree and grated upon another2 |
have never been taught so by good author-
ty, nor have learned it by experiences.
There is much in accIimatiug plants, but
with the apple have not been able to dis
cover any difference with those brought
from the South and those from the North.
For instance, there is Rawle's Janet and Vir-
glna Grcening from the Sonth, which will
not Winterkill one fourth as bad as the Bald
win or Roxbury Russet, both from the
North
Top Crafts and Root Grafts.-I have dis
covered very important consideration in
favor oil Root Grating; very likely it has
been noticed by other fruit growers. Some
seedlings are hardy and some are tender. 1t
is impossible to select in the seed bed or the
nursery row, the hardy varieties from the
tender. Put hardy graft upon the top of a
tender Seeding, the hard winter kills the
tender body, and the tree is lost. Put IL
tender graft upon the top of hardy seed
ling, and the tree is lost. But we have test
ed the gratis, and we know the tender var-
eties, and we know the hardy varieties.
have never known root to winterkll in the
ground. Hence we can select hardy gratis,
but we cannot select hardy seedlings We
have plenty of good varieties that will stand
the winter like an oak Neither tine apple
nor the white oak well in swamp. The
apple tree wants dry loamy clay.
Root grated trees will often bear Young.
We have several varieties which were only
three years old last spring, which boomed
and this summer bear few apples. The
Early Harvest, Red June, Sweet June, Vir
ginia, Greetings, Sweet Romantic, and some
Others; You probably can get more apples
the first ten years by top grating a good
sized tree, but while you are raising good
sized root graft, the body will be straight
and as smooth as turned post, free from
sprouts and better tree iii every respect.
MIR. Phoenix has given Us some very good
instructions in a former number of your pa
per. His theory or propagating hardy trees
from the hardy trees from the seed Of hardy
varieties, may be very good. Seedlings
thus raised will unqueStionably have many
tender varieties among them. Then he will
have to wait another hard testing winter
like those of 1856 Z, before he can test his
hardy varieties, and so OF, for apprehend
| that it will take succession of many gen.
erations of the apple tree before his design
will be accomplished; and friend Phnnix
Heaven grant that we may not in our day
have many such tests-and l believe we
shall not.
Again, suppose you get race of hardy
seedlings, it Will not 10 to put a tender
graft on it !! You may design to go on with
propagating hardy varieties, and numerous
varieiies-uutil out of the immense number
you may occasionally select good variety,
and thus add to our present stock of good
hardy varieties.'
IN addition to what is said above about
the hardness Of seedlings, we may add that,
while on our western tour last spring, we
examined an orchard on Buffalo Prairie, on
the Illinois side of the Mississippi, nearly
opposite Muscatine, composed entirely of
seeding trees. which the owner had planted
under the impression that they would prove
more hardy than grated trees. He was,
however, disappointed in tire result. A few
OF the trees Were already dead, and others
! showed the dark colored bloches, Fire pre-
monitory symptoms of death, which we
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