on their own roots, which would
prove more satisfactory everywhere. That grafted plants bear fruit
sooner than layers, does not always hold good; it may be so with some
varieties, but not with all of them. I have some three year old grafted
plants and no fruit as yet, where I had plenty of layers in the nursery
rows two years old well fruited.

It is true that plants grafted on seedlings of the _Corylus avellana_
will not produce as many suckers, as plants grafted on layers of the
avellana type, but they will produce enough to confuse the average
person, as the foliage of some varieties are so nearly alike, that it
actually requires an expert to tell the difference. I, therefore, under
the existing circumstances, should advise the propagating of hazel
plants by layers only, until our people get better acquainted with the
hazel proposition in general. Why propagation by suckers only should be
preferred by some people, I fail to see, as they are practically the
same as layers, plants on their own roots from a parent plant, only that
layers are produced a little more scientifically and suckers more
naturally; otherwise they are identically the same thing.

When I referred to propagating, I should perhaps have mentioned the
growing of hazel plants from seeds, that is from the nut, but I did not
think it necessary. I will, however, say that plants raised from seed
should never be planted for fruit bearing unless they are grafted or
budded, as it has been fully and positively proven that plants raised
from seed, even if the very finest nuts of our European hybrids are
planted, will not produce nuts as good as those planted, but will almost
invariably go back to the original type, the _Corylus avellana_. It is
alright to raise plants from seeds for the sake of getting stock to
graft or bud on, but, as to variety, the seedlings are unreliable.

Before coming to a close, I would like to say a few words about the
fertilizing of the ground for hazel orchards and what experience I have
had in this matter, as I believe this would be of interest to all. It is
a well-known fact that hazel plants grow well and will thrive in almost
any kind of soil, as long as it is not too wet or too heavy, but from
time to time a little manure worked in is very beneficial both to old
and young plants, but care and judgment should be exercised, so as not
to overdo it. I have growing in one of my city lots with very fertile
soil, several bearing haz