39 



look like a meat saw. which can't be said of Mr. Jones's saw that se- 

 duced Dr. Morris from church. P'or heavy and steady work I much 

 prefer a carpenter's sharp hand saw. A two-edged saw is an abomin- 

 ation devised by conscienceless manufacturers for the seduction of 

 innocent amateurs. 



For pruning shears I have a personal fancy for the French, hand- 

 made instrument, each one individual, a wofk of art and a potential 

 legacy to one's horticultural heir, if one doesn't let the village black- 

 Buidth monkey with it, as I did with mine. 



On some grafts it is desirable to use a bit of paper, either beneath 

 o»- outside of the raffia, to make waxing easier. For this I have found 

 scraps of Japanese paper napkin very adaptive to surfaces and absorp- 

 tive of wax. 



On very heavy grafts Dr. Morris uses the Spanish windlass, as 

 devised by him. for which he carries sisal cord, wooden or metal 

 meat skewers, small staples and a mallet. He uses a chisel to cut slots 

 in \ ery thick bark and planes for shaping heavy grafts. 



I have tried fastening in grafts with a nail, using iron and brass 

 nails and bank pins. ^Ir. Jones has suggested cement covered nails. 

 My experience with iron nails is that they damage the scions. The use 

 of nails has not been fully worked out. They are almost essential in 

 bridge grafting apple trees. I think that just the right kind of a 

 staple might be a help witli some kinds of grafts. 



Paper bags, 2 pound size, are sometimes wanted, for protection 

 from sun or insects or to make the grafts conspicuous. Mr. Jones 

 shades grafts made close to- the ground with a slip of paper. 



For labels for immediate use the wooden ones, painted on one side 

 and with copper wire fastening, are satisfactory. Attach them by 

 the nurser3'man's method, which it has taken me many years to recog- 

 nize as the right one, by twisting the doubled wire around a conven- 

 ient object. Do not separate the wires which will probably permit 

 the label to flip in the wind and soon wear out the wires. I used to 

 think that the nurseryman's method was the result of hurry or lazi- 

 ness. 



Copper labels, to be written on with a stylus, cost 1 o' or 2 cents 

 each, according to size. The smaller I consider preferable. I imagined 

 that these would solve the label problem. Picture my disappointment 

 w^hen I found that many of them cracked, or broke off entirely near the 

 eyelet, from flapping in the wind. If they are to be used they must be 



