Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1888-06-08
OUR FRUIT CULTURISTS.
A Visit to the Celebrated SetlemieT
Nursery.
ITS LOCATION AT WOODBURY., OR.
The Best Stocks upon which to Graft
our PruneS, PlumS, Cherries, etc.
Experience with Fruit Pests.
ITS LOCATION AT wOODBuRY, OR.

On Tuesday last our fruit reporter
took run down the road to lool
over the extensive nursery of j. II
Settlemier, of Woodburn. The re
suit of his visit is partially told
elsewhere. But our space and de
scriptive powers are too limited tC
tell it all. That visit was a pleasure
no lover of nature could fail to en-
Joy. The nursery was originally
started by its present owner in '63
and just enough of the original
gratis have been allowed to remain
to beautify the grounds and furnish
fruit, cuttings and seed. Thus the
purchaser of either shade, fruit or
nut trees, who may be novice, can
have full grown sample of many of
the varieties, to examine and COM
pare. The advantage of this, par
ticularly with shade and ornaments
al trees, shrubs and vines, is incal-
culable. To walk once more be-
meath the shell-bark hickory of our
boyhood days, the linden, the elm
and the chestnut, made us homesick
and nearly caused us to miss the
train.
Believing Our readers would be in
terested in learning something of
the views of Mr.. Settlemier on
grating and other points, we
piled him with questions and re-
ceived substantially such informa-
ton as follows:
The healthfulness of n fruit tree
depends in a great measure upon
the nature of the stock upon which
it is grated. The stock, we will
explain for the benefit OF those who
don't know already, is the root into
which is grated a scion selected
from some well known tree. The
graft, usually inserted near the sur
face of the ground, sends up n shoot
which becomes the tree. Sprouts
from the stock, below the graft, will
be an injury, and for this reason
peach roots are perferred for plum
and prune trees, as they do not
sprout. The plum roots are intoler-
able nuisances in an orchard be-
cause of this tendency. But an
other reason why the peach root is
preferred, is its hardness. A peach
tree may winter-kill above ground;
but the years may come and the
years may go, the root lives on for
ever.
The peach plum is not healthy
tree in some localities in Oregon, but
Mr.. S. has demonstrated its health
fulness where grated on a hardshell
almond body, leaving some two feet
of stock. The great value of the
peach plum makes it desirable sort
to propagate; but its tendency to
disease has kept it the back ground.
Is this not a solution of the evil.
The peach stock is adapted to
light, dry soil. For wet or adobe
land it is not good. The Myrabo- !
Ian, a wild plum ofsouthern France,
is altogether better. 1t does not |
sucker" and is perfectly adapted |
for heavy soils that are impervious |
to water. Keep this fact in mind,
and if you have soils of this nature
upon which to set out prunes or
plums, insist upon your nurseryman
you trees grated upon
stocks. If you cannot
secure them, put pears in their
place. Pears willgrow almost any
place where willows thrive.
Cherries should be grated upon
black Mazzard stocks. Our best
,heITy, the Royal Ann, is not so
hardy a tree as some, but when thus
grated, does well with Mr.. S. He
Ises the black Mazzard eXclus-
vely. An experiment Of Seth
Llewellyn's, made over twenty-five
,ears ago, in grating cherries upon
Wild stocks, may beinteresting. He
,rafted or budded his scion near the
ground, letting the stock remain
ONE two feet high. When the graft
ent up its shoot parallel with the
tock they were united at the top
nd only the graft allowed TO con
inue on and form the branches.
This made tree with double body,
he two parts being kept separate eX-
ept at the top and bottom where
hey were united. The point Of in
crest is that the wild body has far
utstript the tame, proving its better
q 4. Ls.H ]