﻿34 
  

  

  was 
  so 
  effectively 
  pruned 
  that 
  fall 
  by 
  the 
  pecan 
  girdler 
  that 
  my 
  

   work 
  for 
  the 
  season 
  was 
  a 
  minus 
  quantity 
  in 
  all 
  but 
  experience. 
  

   The 
  other 
  living 
  graft, 
  which 
  was 
  put 
  in 
  by 
  an 
  assistant, 
  is 
  now 
  a 
  

   bearing 
  Curtis 
  tree, 
  our 
  only 
  monument 
  to 
  the 
  success 
  of 
  cleft 
  graft- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  pecan. 
  Other 
  propagators 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  secure 
  fair 
  

   results 
  with 
  cleft 
  grafting 
  of 
  pecans 
  in 
  certain 
  localities, 
  but 
  from 
  

   my 
  experience, 
  I 
  am 
  willing 
  to 
  aver 
  that 
  it 
  cannot 
  be 
  done 
  in 
  this 
  

   latitude. 
  

  

  Next 
  followed 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  trials 
  with 
  shield 
  budding 
  which 
  is 
  so 
  

   uniformly 
  successful 
  with 
  peach, 
  but 
  peach 
  methods 
  failed 
  entirely 
  

   with 
  pecans. 
  Then 
  followed 
  a 
  succession 
  of 
  trials 
  with 
  whip 
  graft- 
  

   ing, 
  veneer 
  grafting, 
  bark 
  grafting, 
  and 
  chip 
  budding, 
  all 
  with 
  a 
  

   varyingly 
  large 
  percentage 
  of 
  failure 
  and 
  a 
  uniformly 
  small 
  per- 
  

   centage 
  of 
  success. 
  Some 
  propagators 
  in 
  the 
  South 
  report 
  fairly 
  

   successful 
  results 
  in 
  the 
  chip 
  budding 
  of 
  pecans, 
  but 
  my 
  results 
  with 
  

   this 
  method 
  were 
  largely 
  of 
  a 
  negative 
  character. 
  

  

  After 
  persistent 
  trials 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  known 
  methods 
  of 
  budding 
  and 
  

   grafting, 
  through 
  the 
  varying 
  conditions 
  of 
  four 
  successive 
  seasons, 
  

   I 
  have 
  narrowed 
  the 
  propagation 
  of 
  the 
  pecan 
  in 
  North 
  Carolina 
  to 
  

   one 
  single 
  method, 
  namely, 
  patch-budding. 
  This 
  method 
  has 
  year 
  

   after 
  year 
  given 
  us 
  the 
  highest 
  percentage 
  of 
  successful 
  unions. 
  

   The 
  operation 
  illustrated 
  by 
  figures 
  1 
  to 
  12, 
  is 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  

  

  1. 
  Heading 
  Back. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  dormant 
  period 
  which 
  is, 
  roughly 
  speaking, 
  from 
  

   November 
  1st 
  to 
  March 
  1st, 
  the 
  seedling 
  trees 
  are 
  cut 
  back 
  to 
  stubs, 
  

   the 
  ends 
  of 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  from 
  one 
  to 
  three 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter. 
  

   Wounds 
  larger 
  than 
  this 
  size 
  take 
  years 
  to 
  heal 
  and 
  endanger 
  the 
  

   life 
  of 
  the 
  tree. 
  Large 
  trees 
  can 
  be 
  operated 
  on 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  small 
  

   seedlings, 
  only 
  one 
  has 
  to 
  go 
  higher 
  up 
  so 
  as 
  not 
  to 
  cut 
  too 
  large 
  

   limbs. 
  Figure 
  1 
  shows 
  a 
  seedling 
  pecan 
  tree 
  18 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter, 
  

   which 
  was 
  stubbed 
  back 
  in 
  the 
  winter 
  of 
  1911-1912 
  and 
  successfully 
  

   budded 
  the 
  following 
  summer. 
  The 
  result 
  of 
  this 
  drastic 
  heading- 
  

   back 
  is 
  a 
  numerous 
  growth 
  of 
  vigorous, 
  rapidly 
  growing 
  shoots 
  

   near 
  the 
  ends 
  of 
  the 
  stubs, 
  by 
  which 
  Nature 
  endeavors 
  to 
  heal 
  over 
  

   the 
  wounds. 
  The 
  cambium 
  in 
  these 
  vigorous, 
  sappy 
  shoots 
  is 
  in 
  

   the 
  most 
  active 
  condition 
  possible 
  ; 
  just 
  the 
  condition 
  most 
  suitable 
  

   for 
  the 
  union 
  of 
  stock 
  and 
  scion. 
  This 
  optimum 
  condition 
  cannot 
  

   be 
  secured 
  except 
  by 
  the 
  forced 
  growth 
  as 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  heading 
  

   back. 
  Our 
  experiments, 
  year 
  after 
  year, 
  have 
  shown 
  that 
  on 
  the 
  

   ordinary 
  new 
  shoots, 
  even 
  on 
  active 
  young 
  seedling 
  trees, 
  the 
  per- 
  

  

  