42 



But if applied with a heavy hand it may be too hot even at a tem- 

 perature so low that it will not spread. 



Season for Grafting 



According to Dr. Morris nut trees can be grafted successfully in 

 any month of the year. But practically I think that grafting will 

 be limited to that part of the year doiring which the cambium layer of 

 the stock is active. At other times of the year preservation of the 

 vitality of the scion will be too problematical, it seems to me, even 

 if it is very carefully waxed. However, I may be mistaken. At any 

 rate grafting is not very pleasant work out of doors in very cold 

 weather. The success of bench grafting w&nld be an argument for the 

 succej5s of dormant season grafting out of doors. 



After Care 



Without thoughtful after care the labor of topworking will almost 

 certainly be lost. There are many ways in which the grafts can be lost 

 but the two commonest are by being choked, or inhibited, by growth 

 from the stock, and by being blown out by the wind. All new growth 

 from the stock must be rigorously prevented. Grafts often make so 

 heavy a growth that, if not blown out by the wind, they will be drag- 

 ged out by their own weight. Consequently they must often be sur- 

 ported. When the grafts are in, or near, the trunk of the stock, and 

 not too high, the handiest method of support is to cut. a sapling of 

 proper length, sharpen the butt, stick this into the ground at the base 

 of tlie stock, and tie it in two places to the stock. When the grafts 

 are too far out or too high for this method laths or slats or sticks 

 may be tied or nailed to the branches. Support is likely to be even more 

 necessary in the second season when the growth is often astonishing. 



Bud worms will sometimes destroy your graft just as it is starting, 

 but they are easily found if looked for. With my conditions the most 

 harm by insects is done by the night feeding beetles, which are particu- 

 larly exasperating as morning after morning you watch the progress 

 of their destructive work without ever seeing them. Bagging is the 

 onlv preventive and it pays to use bags when a particular graft is 

 cherished. 



/* Topworking Hickories Worth While? 



Up to the present time it is the surest and easiest way, practically 

 the only way, of getting good results with the hickories, excepting the 

 pecan. The root systems of the native stocks are well established and 

 push the grafts rapidly. I have had a Siers hybrid grow 11 feet 

 straight up in a season. A Taylor matured several nuts on the third 



