360 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



South Haven, May 12, 1873. 



There was the usual good attendance this evening. 



How to propagate by budding and grafting, was considered. 



Master Liberty Bailey stated what he considered to be important rules for 

 grafting, viz. : never graft one limb directly over another. If the limb projects 

 horizontally, do not make the split perpendicular, so as to have one come above 

 the other — make smooth cuts and wax thoroughly. 



Mr. A. S. Dyckman, in reply to a question, said he had experimented in 

 grafting the wild cherry, but had not succeeded well in making them grow. 

 He had one tree, however, from such a graft, which was five or six years old, 

 of large size and doing well. 



Question. — Is it necessary to bud in the new wood. 



Answer. — Buds are usually put in the new wood, but sometimes do well in 

 the old wood. Old trees may be cut back so that vigorous fresh shoots will 

 grow out, into which insert the buds. 



Mr. JST. Phillips remarked that limbs an inch thick might be successfully 

 budded. 



Mr. Ingham, of Benton Harbor, said that attempts to graft peach trees had 

 proved generally unsuccessful until it was found that by leaving a bit of the 

 old wood on the cion, about have the length of the cut, they would grow very 

 well. He had never seen any over two years old. He had doubted whether the 

 union of the cion and stock would be perfect and lasting, but he saw nothing yet 

 to indicate they would not be. Much depends on the wax. 



He observed where the wax did not cover the cut, or cracked much, the 

 grafts had not succeeded. It was advised to graft very early, but he grafted 

 his after the buds had started into leaf, cutting the cions at the time, and had 

 good success. The little black worm will eat the buds out of the cions if they 

 are not protected. He protected his by tying gauze over them, but this would 

 be tedious when grafting many. 



Hon. W. H. Hurlbut thought that the little red robin cherry trees, the 

 fruit of which grew on long stems in clusters, as the cultivated sorts do, would 

 make the best stock to graft on. The stock which bore the little black cherry, 

 which grew together on a stem like currants, was not good to graft on. It was 

 a detriment to have too much grease in grafting wax, and what was used should 

 be such as would dry hard, like linseed oil, as when the grease saturated the 

 wood, or, drawn by the sun, separated and ran into the crevices, the cuts did 

 not heal over well. 



He would rather use clay than such wax. He had been very successful with 

 grafts in small stock, wound with wax cloth. Never had any trouble making 

 grafts live. As to time, he considered the later, to have a good flow of sap, 

 the better, When done early the wood is apt to dry, and the grafts do not 

 make as goo.d a growth as when done later. Considered the latter part of 

 May or the fore part of June the best time. They had done finely set in July. 



Mr. A. J. Pierce suggested that perhaps the cherry would succeed best grafted 

 with some of the old wood on the cion ; it being similar to the peach. 



Mr. Hurlbut inquired whether large pear trees did well when top grafted. 

 jSeveral replied that they had pear trees so grafted which were doing finely. 



Mr. Ruggles, of Bloomingdale, stated that his peach trees, and nearly all he 

 knew of in that section, were dead. In grafting apple trees, he found of some 

 varieties, the wood bL^c^. The soil was a dry gravelly loam, and the location 

 elevated. 



