52 



picked off. It is ino.st important to rub off' at once any new growth 

 that appears on the stock. Often it appears and grows with great 

 rapidity and may absorb tlie sap and starve out the growing grafts. 

 Often the grafts, too, will grow with great '•apidity. They must then 

 be supported or they will be blown out, broken off" or fall of their 

 own weight. A convenient way to support the grafts is to cut a sap- 

 linjg two or three feet taller than the stock, sharpen the butt end and 

 push it into the ground at the foot of the stock. Then tie it firmly 

 to the top of the stock with strong cord arid tie the new shoots to the up- 

 right thus formed with raffia or soft cord. Continue the tying from 

 time to time as necessary. 



The following spring, before growth starts, the strongest shoot 

 may be chosen to form the new tree and the others cut back, leaving 

 buds on each so that they will throw out new shoots. This helps to 

 heal the stump and prevent decay, and furnishes scions for future 

 grafting from year to year. 



At this time also, or earlier durijig the dormant season, the removal 

 of the limbs left on the stock must be begun. While at all times new 

 growth must be rigidly kept off' it is a matter of judgment in each 

 case how much of the old limbs should be removed. If the stock is 

 small, and the :grafts have made a good growth, all of the limbs may 

 be cut away. When the tree is large only part of the limbs can be 

 taken off'. If too much is cut away one of two things may happen. 

 Either the tree may die for lack of nourishment for the roots, or the 

 grafts will take on such rapid growth that they will sprawl and spindle 

 so as to make it diff"icult to support and train them into a good he.'id. 



(On account of space and expense limitations, and in accordance 

 with the vote of the convention in 192.J. the transcript of the stenog- 

 rapher's full report has been unsparinglj' cut and it has also been 

 necessary to abstract some of the papers read instead of publishing 

 them in full. Copies of the full report are in the hands of the secre- 

 tary). 



Mr. Henry D. Spencer of Decatur, Illinois, read a paper entitled, 

 "Some Methods of Arousing Public Interest in Nut Growing." 



Mr. Spencer mentioned as among the obstacles to the success of 

 the eff'orts of the nut growers associations that it is so hard to stirt 

 a new idea and that the people are so ignorant of the possibilities of 



