I have an old apple orchard and would like to have two or three of the
best varieties positively identified, so that I can order these kinds
from the nursery for next year's planting.

Old California apple orchards have many varieties no longer propagated
largely. If you greatly desire to have a few trees of exactly the
varieties which you are now growing, you run some risk of mistake in
ordering by name, but if you make some root-grafts by taking a piece of
the smaller roots of the tree, which you can dig out, say about the size
of a pencil, and graft scions upon them, you can secure root-grafts for
planting in nursery this year and in that way be sure to have trees of
exactly the same kind. Root-grafts can be made in the winter, placed in
sand which is kept moist and not wet, planted out as soon as the ground
warms up, and you will get immediate and very satisfactory growth in
that way.



Pruning Old Apple Trees.



I have an old orchard containing some apple trees about 40 years
old - trees well shaped but with plenty of main branches and limbs all
very long. The trees bear profusely in alternate years but the fruit is
small. In pruning would you advise cutting out some main limbs where
there are over three or four and thus making a big wood reduction (where
sunburn protection can still be guarded) or would you only shorten in