Rural School Leaflet 1079 



1. For pruning twigs and small limbs use pruning shears or a sharp 

 knife, and for larger limbs use a small saw. 



2. Remove any limb or twig that is growing across another and that, 

 if left, would rub and injtire the bark. In deciding between two crossed 

 limbs leave the stronger one or the one that keeps the shape of the tree 

 most perfectly. 



3. Always cut off a limb close to the parent branch and parallel with 

 it. Wounds made in this way heal quickly because they are near actively 

 growing tissue. Never leave a stub. 



4. Do not have too many branches coming from the trimk of the tree. 

 Four or five are plenty, and will make an open tree that will allow the 

 sunlight to enter. 



5. In pruning small branches and twigs, always cut just above a strong 

 leaf bud. The bud will probably grow into a branch and should therefore 

 be on the side toward which you want the branch to grow. By choosing 

 these buds carefrdly, the tree can be trained as desired. 



6. Prime out all dead wood in both trees and shrubs, and in the case of 

 the latter trim the shoots back somewhat so that the shrub will form a 

 well-shaped and compact clump. Always cut above a bud. 



GRAFTING 



If there is a wild fniit tree on the school grounds, perhaps it will be 

 possible to graft a good variety on it. Do not attempt this work, however, 

 unless some older person in the neighborhood will show you how, and will 

 lend you the tools and the grafting wax. Grafting is the operation of 

 setting a twig, or scion, from one tree in the stem of another in such a 

 way that the twig will unite with the stem and will grow. The twig is 

 called the scion, and the tree is called the stock. Between the hard wood 

 and the bark of a tree there is a layer of tissue which is alive and growing. 

 This is called the cambitun layer. In order that a graft may grow, the 

 cambium layer of the scion must touch the cambium layer of the stock. 

 This is the principle underlying all methods of grafting. The following 

 descriptions of whip grafting, cleft grafting, and the making of grafting 

 waxes and bandages were written by Mr. R. D. Anthony and published 

 in a teachers' leaflet some years ago. 



Whip grafting. — The fruit grower may use whip grafting to top-work 

 a two-year-old or three- year-old tree if the branches are not too large, 

 to be easily cut. In such a case, the work is done just before growth starts, 

 in the spring. 



A part of a branch from the previous season's growth is chosen for the 

 scion. The lower end is cut oft' with a smooth diagonal cut at such an 

 angle that the cut is three-quarters to one inch lorig.. The knife, blade iSj 



