Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-05-08
Bud and Stock Selection.
(B.S Brown, Professor of Horticulture. In
Farmers Week.

When growing nursery trees, 1t 10 pos
sible by paying careful attention to the
stock used In the propagation to influ.
enoe the resulting tree In ono or more OF
the following ways:
Make . more vigorous and hardy
tree.
2 Cause them to bear younger.
Reduce the stature of the tree.
4 Shorten or leugthen the span Of
life.
8 Cause trees to be more resistant
to diseases and insects.
6 Adapt trees to uncongenial soils.
7 Influence the time of blooming.
8 Affect the keeping quality of the
fruit.
8 Influence the quality or flavor.
Many highly desirable fruits are pro-
duced on trees that are weak and lack
ing In vlgor. Such trees can be greatly
improved by using hardy vigorous
stock. Sometimes the trees are twice
budded to accomplish this purpose,
when the process would be known as
Double Working" By working on to
slow growing stock the stature OF the
resulting tree is reduced, or "dwarfed."
Thus apples are grated on paradise or
doucine stock, and pear upon ounce for
this purpose. Dwarfed or double work
ed trees hear from 2 to5 years earlier
than standard trees, also they are short
or lived.
Disease and insect troubles may be re-
duced by choice of stock. The Northern
Spy apple is less affected by Woody Aphis
than other kinds. European grapes
have to be worked on to American spe-
cies in order to resist certain insects.
English wslnuts are grated on to the
black since the latter is more resistant
to the walnut blight, etc.
Soils affec. trees In different ways. By
varying the stock used trees may be
adapted to widely different soils.
Peaches do best on sandy soils but they
may be adapted to heavy soils by work.
iug them on plum stock. Plums may be
grown on sandy soil by using peach
stock. etc. Apples are grown in the
prairie sections BY using one of the crab
apples which is able to Withstand the
dry cold winter weather.
In the Southern states, peaches and al
mouds are worked on to plum stock to
delay the period of blooming and avoid
spring frosts. Plums blossom from 10
to 20 davs after peaches or almonds.
Color and flavor of fruits are also inf]u-
enced more or less by the stock used but
the results are not 80 easily measured or
40 we'll understood. There apparently
ia no question but what the high colored
fruits can be improved by grating on
seedliugs grown from high colored
fruits. This, however, is more or less
an indefinite quantity, as the seedlings
NAV vary widely In their
ability to transmit the high color. Re-
sults are more noticeable when seed.
lings from Siberian crops are used be-
csuse they are more stable.
What is true of color is also true OF
the sugar and acid content of the fruit.
Apples low In sugar when grated on
sweet apple trees will show au increase
in sugar content. Undoubtedly some of
the poor color aud lack of quality in Ger.
tain regions attributed to local environ.
ment may be due to the influence of the
stock on which they are grated. Claims
have been made that the Baldwin apple
after being grated through several gen
eratious on the Tolman Sweet developed
a high sugar content.
Az The stock may affect the maturity
of the fruit, so also may 1t affect the
keeping quality. The Dutchess apple
when worked on the Ben Davis will
keep from 4 to 6 weeks longer than the
same apple worked in an early variety.