APPLES 



123 



times around the other end of the cut, 

 as in the beginning, and fasten the end, 

 not by tying, but by drawing it down 

 into the cut and by a sharp jerk, break- 

 ing it off. This completes the process. 

 The finished graft should be from seven 

 to nine inches long. (Fig. 2.) Some 

 people prefer to dip the ball of wrapping 

 thread in hot grafting wax before using. 

 If this is done it is not necessary to 

 fasten the end of the thread after wrap- 



Fig. 3. Apple Grafts. At a are shown a 

 good No. 1 apple seedling, whole, and the 

 same cut into three pieces for piece root 

 grafting. At b is shown the complete pro- 

 cess of malting apple grafts. 



ping, as the wax will hold it in place. 

 The old way was to thoroughly wax over 

 the point of union after being wrapped 

 with a string. Some also went so far 

 as to wrap with a piece of waxed cloth. 

 But these precautions are not considered 

 to be necessarj\ 



Whole-root grafts are widely advertised. 

 This is a trade name for grafts that have 

 been made by using branching roots 



four to six inches long, the scion being 

 grafted on at the crown or part of the 

 seedling root that grew just at the top 

 of the ground. Seedlings that have not 

 formed long tap roots may be economi- 

 cally employed in whole-root grafting. It 

 is not practical, and also is unnecessary 

 to use entirely whole roots, where the 

 latter are very long, in root grafting. 

 In the first place it would scarcely be 

 l)ossible to dig the seedling without de- 

 stroying a portion of the tap root, and 

 even if this could be accomplished, it 

 would not be feasible to plant such grafts 

 after they were made as they would be 

 two feet or more in length. In many in- 

 stances there is no doubt but that grafts 

 u]ion moderately long roots will make 

 better trees than where very short pieces 

 are used. However, very much depends 

 upon the character of the soil and the 

 season in which grafts are grown. With 

 proper handling good trees may be grown 

 with short pieces of root for stock. 

 Owing to cheapness as well as ease in 

 handling, the writer prefers a scion six 

 or seven inches long and a section of 

 root about three inches long. (Figs. 2 

 and 3.) 



In wrapping apple grafts only just 

 enough thread should be used to hold 

 the parts firmly together until planted. 

 It is a mistake to wrap with thread that 

 is too strong, or to use too much of the 

 right kind of string, as such binding 

 material will not decay quickly enough. 

 If the thread does not decay when 

 growth begins after being planted, the 

 tree at the point of union will be girdled 

 or ligatured, thus creating a wound which 

 is a menace to the health of the tree. 

 This is the objection to using waxed 

 thread, as the wax may prevent its decay- 

 ing at the proper time. 



Pack the grafts in bundles of 50 to 

 100 each and store in green sawdust, 

 where they are to be kept until plant- 

 ing time. While in storage the cut sur- 

 faces which have been joined together 

 will actually begin to heal over and par- 

 tially begin to unite, and on this account 

 the grafts should not be disturbed until 

 they are taken out for planting. Keep 

 the boxes of grafts in a cellar or mod- 



