I haven't had any personal experience, but I have observed quite a good deal, and the tendency, it seems to me, is to try to develop as much as possible the fibrous root. Sometimes that is brought about by cutting the tap-root, or putting a wire mesh below where the seed is planted, so as to form an obstruction to the tap-root, so that it necessarily forms a fibrous root. Where the tap-root is the only root I doubt very much the advisability of cutting back too severely. Col. Van Duzee: I have heard this subject discussed all over this country, in meetings of this kind, and a great deal of energy has been wasted. I do not think any of us know anything about it, but I do wish to say this, that when you come to transplant a tree from the nursery to the orchard, there are things of infinitely more moment than how you shall hold your knife between your fingers when you cut the roots. The exposure of the roots to the air, the depth to which the tree is to be put in the ground, the manner in which it shall be handled--those things are of infinitely more importance, because we know we can transplant trees successfully and get good results when the tap-root has been injured or almost entirely removed. I do not consider that the question of cutting the tap-root is of very serious importance, but I do think we should insert a word of caution as to the exposure of the roots of trees to the atmosphere, and make it just as strong as we are capable of writing it. The Chairman: That is a very interesting point, that we have fixed our eye on the tap-root and talked too much about it. Not long ago one of the agricultural journals decided finally to settle the question about the time for pruning grapes, whether it should be done in the fall, spring, winter or summer, and after summing up all the testimony from enthusiastic advocates for each one of the seasons, the editor decided that the best time is when your knife is sharp; and that is very much the way with the tap-root. Be very particular in getting the root in and caring for it. Mr. Pomeroy: Prof. Close, in a bulletin issued two years ago, spoke as does Col. VanDuzee about protecting the roots of the trees; he said "when the trees are taken from the box that you receive them in, don't expose them to the sun or air, puddle every tree, and plant as soon as possible." I think that is pretty good advice. It doesn't cost any money, and takes very few minutes, to puddle the trees and it saves many of them. The Chairman: I have tried the Stringfellow Method of cutting back top and root until my men asked me if I didn't want to transplant another tree instead, and they have grown just as well as trees on which I took great pains to preserve fine branching roots.