118 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 



Plums, however, start growth under slight stimulus, and a few warm 

 days will end the work, even when all ordinary precautions have been 

 taken. It is best to commence early enough, so that the finish need 

 not be hurried by the weather conditions. 



Scions must not only be dormant, but must be neither wilted from 

 drying, nor water soaked from being kept too wet. Sometimes it is 

 convenient to take them from the trees as wanted ; more frequently 

 they will be cut late in the fall, or come from a distance, and the 

 question of how to keep them will present itself. They may be kept 

 in an outside cellar or pit, packed in dry leaves, or in moss that is 

 but slightly damp. The aim should be simply to provide conditions 

 that will prevent the loss of moisture, without affording opportunity 

 for the absorption of an excess. 



The particular method of grafting to be used is much a matter of 

 taste. Several are available, among which the four following are 

 named in the order of the writer's preference : Veneer, side, whip, and 

 cleft. The side-graft is probably in more general use than any of the 

 •others, but after several years' experience with all of them we are in- 

 <5lined to favor the veneer method as" giving the most perfect union. 



It is not our purpose to here di.scuss the principles of grafting, but 

 may remark that in all grafting no union takes place between cut sur- 

 faces of the wood. It is only through the adjustment of the cambium 

 of the scion to that of the stock that union is secured, and here it is 

 not a union between cells existing at the time the grafting is done, 

 but through new cells formed in extension of the cambium, which is 

 the only channel of communication between leaves and roots. This 

 being true, it seems reasonable that the less the area of cut- wood sur- 

 faces the better. The minimum of cut wood is secured by the veneer 

 graft, which only exposes the wood in the oblique transverse cuts at 

 the apex of the stqck and the base of the scion. The one valid objec- 

 that may be urged against the veneer graft is that the scion is easily 

 displaced. It is easily displaced if carelessly tied, but with reasonable 

 care no trouble need be feared. 



Whatever the method used, the union should be thoroughly cov- 

 ered with some protective wax. A liquid wax, to be applied with a 

 brush, is most convenient, and, of several preparations, one known as 

 '"alcoholic plastic" answers the purpose admirably. It is made as 

 follows : One pound of resin and one ounce of tallow melted together ; 

 remove from the fire, and, after cooling slightly, but while still liquid, 

 add eight fluid ounces of alcohol and stir thoroughly. This prepara- 

 tion must be kept in a corked bottle or other closed vessel to prevent 

 the evaporation of the alcohol. After waxing, the grafted stocks 

 should be returned to the cellar and kept at as low a temi^erature as 



