THE AVOCADO 49 



planted during the remainder of that day. Before digging we wet 

 down the surrounding soil until it puddled easily. The trees were 

 dug with as much of the root systems as could well be handled and the 

 roots were immediately wrapped in wet burlap and the trees placed 

 in the shade. We did our defoliating and pruning back considerably 

 ahead of the digging and found that trees which had been cut back for a 

 week or more and had just started a new growth could be moved as 

 successfully, and in fact grew off better, than those which had been 

 more recently defoliated. 



" Since then we have carried on experiments in this line at our 

 nursery, using trees with roots entirely bare, and have had a very 

 low percentage of loss. Upon our recommendation a number of 

 avocado growers in South Bade have tried the method with a limited 

 number of trees and without exception have expressed themselves as 

 intending to make all their plantings hereafter with bare-root trees. 



" The two essentials seem to be getting the tree into proper condition 

 before moving from its original position and plenty of water after 

 transplanting." 



Grafting. 



One method of grafting has been employed extensively 

 for the production of nursery stock in Florida, and an- 

 other has been used on a limited scale for top-working old 

 trees. 



The system extensively used is a modified form of the side- 

 graft employed with other plants. The seeds are germinated 

 in a seed-bed; when the sprouts have reached a height of 5 

 or 6 inches the plants are dug and laid on the bench. A cut 

 an inch long is made on one side of the sprout, just above the 

 seed, and a thin section of the stem removed, exposing the 

 tissues. The cion is then taken from the tip of a very small 

 branchlet, preferably one which has not fully matured. It 

 should be about 1 inch long, and provided with one or two 

 axillary buds as well as the terminal. It is trimmed on one 

 side to a tapering point at the lower end, and this cut surface 

 is placed against the cut on the stock, after which it is bound 

 carefully in place. The plant is then potted, placed under 

 partial shade, and carefully watered from day to day. After 



