438 CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



A method of side grafting (so called because the stock is not cut 

 across but a cleft made in the side of it) has been very successfully 

 practiced by Mr. Weinshank, of Whittier, both with nursery seedlings 

 and on branches of large trees. His work has shown eighty to ninety 

 per cent successful in the nursery and even more on branches of large 

 trees. The following is a condensed description of the method : 



The scion is prepared as for a whip graft (page 81), cutting a cross 

 obliquely and making another cut right straight down with the grain 

 in the scion. Then, instead of cutting the stock completely across like 

 the scion, just simply make a little cut on the side. Do not cut into the 

 pith of the wood at all. Then, place the two together by pushing the 

 tongue of the scion (made by the cut on its shorter side) into the lip 

 cut in the stock ; tie with a string and wax over. The same method on 

 larger trees is performed exactly in the same way, except that the lip 

 of course on the larger limbs, which are three or four inches through, 

 would be considerably larger, and the scion instead of being placed 

 directly in the middle of the lip, or in the center, would be placed on 

 the side so as to have the cambium of the scion connecting with the 

 cambium on the stock at least on one side. Three or four, or sometimes 

 five scions are put on a large limb, and in most cases three or four 

 scions would grow. After the scion has" reached a certain stage of 

 growth, this string will commence to bind, and must be cut down right 

 over where the scion is. The wax on either side will tend to hold the 

 string, but as the wood naturally grows, the strings will draw apart, 

 and it will not bind as it would if the string was not cut. 



Side grafting with a saw-cut, as described for the peach on page 

 243, also works well with the walnut. 



Treatment After Grafting. A fuller account of the protection 

 of scions after setting and during their early growth is given by 

 Mr. Edwin Gower of Fowler, Fresno County, thus explicitly : 



Take two folds of burlap, punch holes for the scions to pass through, making 

 a hood inclosing and covering the entire stump, letting it extend down the sides 

 a short distance ; tie a string around the stump to hold it in place ; by using 

 this method the wax will remain in perfect condition. In valleys, where the wax 

 melts, a portion of the stump is exposed and runs down the crevices, destroying 

 the tender tissues of the scion. 



After the scion is growing rapidly, cut the string; do not remove it. This 

 allows the scion to grow without the string cutting it. If small trees, drive a 

 stake down to tie the new growth. On old trees nail four sticks equal distances 

 apart around the stump, letting the sticks extend four or five feet beyond the 

 stump, wrap some string around these sticks; this acts as a net enclosing the 

 growth of the scion, which grows phenomenally on black walnut. I have seen 

 instances where they grow fifteen feet in one year. This net acts as a support 

 and keeps the scion from either breaking or splitting off by the winds. It is 

 sometimes advisable to nip off the end of the branches to check the growth. Cut 

 them back vigorously for two or three years, until such time as they are well 

 attached to the stump. 



I have used the bark graft, also the cleft graft, but I prefer the former, as the 

 scion seems to grow more rapidly and reach maturity sooner. 



Planting Walnut Orchards. There is much difference in prac- 

 tice in planting out walnut trees in permanent place. Some advocate 

 the use of trees two or three years from the seed, getting as much of 

 the tap-root as possible; others allow the tree to remain in nursery 



