49 



Here is a Stabler black walnut graft on common black walnut 

 stock last year. For years I had been in the habit of cutting my 

 scions and throwing the stubs away. I had a nice lot of hardy look- 

 ing stubs in the grass and I said to myself "Why not try some of 

 the stubs?" They made a very fine growth. I didn't lose one of 

 them. Here is one of the big stub grafts and here is the growth it 

 made last year. Here is another plain splice and the growth it made 

 last year. This tree was killed by the ice in the river on my place 

 last year. Sometimes in the spring we have great masses of ice come 

 down that run through the orchard and kill some of my trees. That 

 is the reason I cut off this one. I have only brought specimens that 

 were injured but they show perfectly well. In this smaller splice 

 you see I fitted the scion to the diameter of the stock. In the larger 

 one I took no pains to do that. Furthermore the paraffin method 

 was used. The scion is covered entirely with paraffin and I think 

 you will notice, by rubbing your fingers over this stock, that the 

 paraffin, although two years have elapsed, is all there. It is because 

 I put it on in such a fine layer that it expanded with the growth of 

 the scion. 



Not always, but in order to make sure that my simple splice 

 graft would hold, I have sometimes put in screws. I use flat-head, 

 brass, wood screws, seven-eighths inch long. 



I will put in some screws for you. So, if any of you fear that 

 the simple splice grafts may not hold, put in screws and study Basil 

 King's book on the " Conquest of Fear." This is a black walnut 

 graft that I put in late this year with screws. You can see the 

 screws projecting from the paraffin cover. I do not care if the 

 screw sticks out quite a little distance. It is covered with a thin layer 

 of paraffin. This graft caught and started to grow but was killed off 

 by sprouts springing from the butternut in great masses before it 

 had a chance to assert its own individuality. The graft, however, is 

 all complete. Here is another one, where the screws are projecting, 

 which was killed off by the stock sprouts below, with the repair all 

 complete. In fact it would have gone on well enough to a successful 

 growth if I hadn't been away and allowed the stock sprouts to grow. 

 This shows, incidentally, the thin layer of paraffin. If we use a thick 

 layer of paraffin it will crack and not be successful. 



The simple splice graft is a very simple affair. In the first place 

 it is well to have a knife with which you can shave. I think, Mr. 

 Chairman, you could shave with that (handing knife to the Presi- 

 dent). That is the sort of edge to use in ail our grafting work, the 

 sort of edge that will bring terror to the heart of the mother of boys. 

 I find very few people who really can sharpen a knife. I have been 

 surprised at the small proportion of people who are really able to 

 do it. They put on a fed;ther edge, or they leave a round edge, or at 

 any rate they are unable apparently to use the little finesse required 

 to put the finishing touch on a really good knife. Above all other 

 essentials is this little piece of carborundum made at Niagara Falls, 



