28 Effective Farming 



Place soil in a tin can or glass tumbler ; plant seeds in the soil and 

 keep the soil saturated with water. At the same time, plant seeds in 

 soil in a flower pot or other receptacle that is provided with drainage 

 and keep the soil moist, but not too wet. Explain the difference in 

 results of the two plantings. 



4. Grafting-wax, waxed-string, and waxed-tape. Grafting-wax 

 is used to cover the cut surfaces in cleft-grafting ; it forms a protective 

 covering impervious to moisture. Waxed-string and waxed-tape are 

 used for tying buds to the stock in budding and also for holding the 

 stock and cion together in whip-grafting. 



The following equipment is required to carry out this exercise. 

 Two pounds of resin, one pound of beeswax, half a pound of tallow or 

 half a pint of linseed oil, small quantity of tallow for greasing the hands 

 and coating the paper in which the wax is to be stored, vessel in which 

 to cook the ingredients, ball of No. 18 cotton yarn, and a piece of 

 muslin. 



To make the wax, break the resin and beeswax into small pieces and 

 place them with the tallow or linseed oil in the pan and over the heat. 

 When melted pour the contents of the pan into cold water and when 

 cool enough pull as you would taffy until the wax becomes light- 

 colored and smooth-grained. Rub a little tallow on your hands to 

 prevent the wax from sticking to the skin. Coat some paper with tal- 

 low and wrap the wax in this paper and store in a cool place for future 

 use. 



To make waxed-string, drop the ball of No. 18 cotton yarn into 

 melted grafting-wax and leave it there for about five minutes. Re- 

 move and allow it to cool. Store for future use. 



Waxed-tape is made of cloth coated with wax and torn into strips 

 about one-third inch in width. It is used more largely in citrus-tree 

 budding than in the propagation of other kinds of trees. To make 

 waxed-tape, dip a piece of muslin of convenient size into hot grafting- 

 wax, take it out immediately, and scrape off the surplus wax before 

 it cools. A convenient way to do this is to throw the piece of muslin 

 over a stick held horizontally by one of the pupils, then scrape off the 

 wax by pulling downward with two pieces of wood pressed against 

 each other, one on each side of the folded strip. After the surplus 

 wax has been removed, lay the muslin out to cool and, when cool, tear 

 into strips about a third of an inch wide. Wind these strips into a 

 ball and as each strip is added slip the end of it about a half inch under 

 the one previously added. The ends will stick together and the tape 

 will be in a continuous strip, which arrangement is convenient when 

 budding the seedlings. 



