16 AUGUST 1930, Page 15

THE ART OF GRAFTING.

The money some of the fruit-growers expend and the skill they show is great. On this prize farm in one very big apple orchard every single tree had been decapitated. The variety was not found good enough ; and as soon as the decision was made the whole of the four or five acres was regrafted with a more lucrative variety. Owners of private gardens who submit, as most submit, to half worthless trees, owe a debt of admiration to such commercial growers. Grafting is now so skilfully performed that few grafts fail, and the old tree becomes as shapely as ever and as full of fruit within a few years. For the private gardener it is amusing, and if the garden is very small, it may be worth while to graft several sorts on one tree.