100 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. 



feel moist to the hand. If a handful of sand is taken it should not form 

 o ball when squeezed and should not leave the hand moist. There is 

 very little danger of getting the sand too dry, unless it is taken from 

 the top of a pile which has been exposed to the hot sun for several 

 days. An ideal method of keeping cuttings is to cover them with a 

 mixture of dry moss and a little powdered charcoal in a cool, moist 

 cellar. The cuttings should be loose or in small bundles in order that 

 they may all be in contact with the moss. 



Cuttings to be used as stocks should be handled in the same way, 

 except that it is preferable to cut them up into the lengths which will 

 be used. The length will vary from 8 to 15 inches, according to 

 whether long- or short-grafted plants are panted. For planting in 

 very dry soils which are very open and liable to dry down deep, and 

 for hillsides where the unions must be placed higher, long grafts are 

 desirable. As a rule, a cutting of 10 inches is quite long enough for 

 grafting. Longer cuttings are more difficult to handle in the nursery, 

 and shorter cuttings require more care in the vineyard. The stock 

 cuttings should be kept dormant like the scions, but a slight swelling 

 of the buds is not so serious in this case. If the scion buds have 

 commenced to swell they should not be used, as there will be too many 

 fail to grow. If the stocks have started a little they can still be used 

 successfully, provided that the bark has not become loose. 



Time of Grafting. Cutting grafting may be commenced in California 

 by the first of January, or even sooner, but the best results are obtained 

 by grafting in February and March. The work may be continued 

 through April and even in May if the cuttings can be kept dormant. 



Preparation of Stocks. The first thing to do when everything is 

 ready for grafting is to prepare the stocks. If it has not already been, 

 done the resistant cuttings should be cut into the desired lengths 

 say 10 inches. This should be done as accurately as possible, and some 

 kind of gauge will be needed. This gauge may be simply marks cut 

 in the work table, or a stick of the required length held in the hand. 



The cut at the bottom should be made through a bud in such a way 

 as to leave the diaphragm or partition which interrupts the pith at 

 this place. The top cut should then be made as near 10 inches from 

 the bottom as is possible, while at the same time leaving at least 1% 

 inches of internode above the top bud. This piece of intcrnode is 

 necessary for convenience in grafting. 



Fig. 3 shows a simple gauge for insuring accuracy in cutting the 

 stocks. It consists of a piece of 1-inch board 18 inches long and 6 

 inches wide, to the middle of which is nailed a piece of wood 1 inch 



