46 



grafting waxes liad to he aj)])lied in melted form witli a brush. 

 They had to be applied in mielted form for filling interstices 

 of wounds in which sap might collect and ferment. These waxes had 

 the effect of not retaining their quality under greatly varying con- 

 ditions of heat, cold and moisture. The jiaraffin waxes which the 

 author has preferred were inclined to crack and to become separated 

 from the graft and stock in cold weather. Furthermore they would 

 remelt and become useless in the very hot sun of southern latitudes. 



Experimentation for several seasons has resulted in the finding that 

 raw pine gum is miscible with the paraffins in almost all proportions 

 because of physical or chemical "affinity. This gives to the wax an 

 elasticity and adhesiveness of such degree that we may now graft trees 

 in cold weather. Cohesiveness of molecules of the mixture is such that 

 remelting in the hot sun may not destroy the effectiveness of this pro- 

 tective coating in hot weather. 



Since the author has depended upon this mixture he has grafted 

 peaches, apples, hazels and hickories successfully in nlid^vinter as well 

 as in midsummer. Many other kinds of trees have been grafted suc- 

 cessfully out of the so-called grafting season ^but these four kinds 

 which represent two of the "easiest grafters" and two of the "hardest 

 grafters" will suffice for purposes of illustration. 



According to old-established idea trees may be grafted success- 

 fully only from scions that have been cut when dormant and stored in 

 proper receptacles. This is what we may term "mediate grafting," 

 a considerable length of time intervening between cutting the scions 

 and inserting the grafts. On the other hand what we may call "immedi- 

 ate grafting" is the taking of a scion from one tree and grafting it at 

 once in a tree that is to receive it. Mediate or immediate grafting may 

 both be done at almost anj^ time of the year, winter or summer, spring 

 or autumn. 



When preparing the scion for immediate grafting in the spring 

 or early summer it is best to cut off all the leaves and herbaceous 

 growth of the year. We then depend upon latent buds situated in the 

 older wood of the scion. The latter may be one year or several years 

 of age. 



In midsummer when top buds have formed we may remove only the 

 leaves, allowing the growth of the year to remain and to serve for 

 grafting material. 



In experiments with the apple for example it was found that medi- 



