l that was around it and keep it all
winter in a cool, damp place.

Now when spring comes it will not do to set out the carefully tended
tree, for an apple tree from seed will not be a tree like its parent,
but will tend to resemble a more distant ancestor. The distant ancestor
that the young apple tree is most likely to take after is the wild
apple, which is small, sour, and otherwise far inferior to the fruit we
wish to grow. It makes little difference, therefore, what kind of apple
seed we plant, since in any event we cannot be sure that the tree grown
from it will bear fruit worth having unless we force it to do so.

[Illustration: FIG. 63. A YOUNG FRUIT-GROWER]

SECTION XXII. GRAFTING

By a process known as _grafting_ you can force your tree to produce
whatever variety of apple you desire. Many people raise fruit trees
directly from seed without grafting. Thus they often produce really
worthless trees. By grafting they would make sure not only of having
good trees rather than poor ones but also of having the particular kind
of fruit that they wish. Hence you must now graft your tree.

First you must decide what variety of apple you want to grow on the
tree. The Magnum Bonum is a great favorite as a fall apple. The Winesap
is a good winter apple, while the Red Astrachan is a profitable early
apple, especially in the lowland of the coast region. The Northern Spy,
AEsop, and Spitzenburg are also admirable kinds. Possibly some other
apple that you know may suit your taste and needs better than any of
these varieties.

If you have decided to raise an AEsop or a Magnum Bonum or a Winesap, you
must now cut a twig from the tree of your choice and graft it upon the
little tree that you have raised. Choose a twig that is about the
thickness of the young tree at the point where you wish to graft. Be
careful to take the shoot from a vigorous, healthy part of the tree.

[Illustration: FIG. 64. TONGUE GRAFTING]

There are many ways in which you may join the chosen shoot or twig upon
the young tree, but perhaps the best one for you to use is known as
_tongue grafting_. This is illustrated in Fig. 64. The upper part, _b_,
which is the shoot or twig that you cut from the tree, is known as the
_scion_; the lower part, _a_, which is the original tree, is called the
_stock_.

Cut the scion and stock as shown in Fig. 64. Join the cut end of the
scion to the cut end of the stock. When you join them, notice that under
the ba