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Six hundred grafts were made in our trials last winter. It was 

 found that the wood must be somewhat hardened to secure best 

 results. The very soft and flabby shoots are likely to be injured 

 in the operation of grafting, and union does not take place readily. 

 Vigorous coleus stocks three months old, gave best results if cut 

 to within two or three inches of the pot and all or nearly all the 

 leaves removed from the stump. Geraniums, being harder in 

 wood, made good unions at almost any place except on the soft 

 growing points. The stock must not have ceased growth, how- 

 ever. Most of the leaves should be kept down on the stock. 

 Cions an inch or two long were usually taken from firm growing 

 tips, in essentially the same manner as in the making of cuttings. 

 Sometimes an eye of the old wood was used, and in most cases 

 union took place and a new shoot arose from the bud. The leaves 

 were usually partly removed from the cion. 



Various styles of grafting were employed, of which the common 

 cleft and the veneer or side graft were perhaps the most satisfac- 

 tory. In most instances it was only necessary to bind the parts 

 together snugly with bass or raffia. In some soft-wooded plants, 

 like coleus, a covering of common grafting wax over the bandage 

 was an advantage, probably because it prevented the drying out 

 of the parts. In some cases, however, wax injured the tissues 

 where it overreached the bandage. Sphagnum moss was used in 

 many cases, tied in a small mass about the union, but unless the 

 parts were well bandaged the cion sent roots into the moss and did 

 not unite ; and in no case did moss appear to possess decided ad- 

 vantages. Best results were obtained by placing the plants at 

 once in a propogating-frame, where a damp and confined atmos- 

 phere could be maintained. In some plants, successful unions 

 were made in the open greenhouse, but they were placed in shade 

 and kept sprinkled for a day after the grafts were made. The oper- 

 ation should always be performed quickly to prevent flagging of 

 the cions. Or, if the cions cannot be used at once, they may be 

 thrust into sand or moss in the same manner as cuttings, and kept 

 for several days. In one series, tomato and potato cuttings, which 

 had flagged in the cutting bed, revived when grafted. And cut- 

 tings which had been transported in the mail for three days grew 

 readily, but they were in good condition when received. The 

 mealy bugs were particularly troublesome upon these grafted 

 plants, for they delighted to crawl under the bandages and suck 

 the juices from the wounded surfaces. 



