THE AVOCADO 51 



trees, is most successful with seedlings two to four years old, 

 but can also be used on older trees. While it has not been 

 practiced extensively, it has given good results in the grove of 

 W. J. Krome, at Homestead, Florida. Krome has worked out 

 the method here described. 



The trees to be grafted should be sawed off 2 to 4 feet from 

 the ground, according to size, this work being done during 

 November and December in Florida, though it has been success- 

 ful as late as March. With two-year-old seedlings the trunk 

 itself is sawed off; on larger trees it is well to go above the 

 trunk and saw off the main branches a foot from their union 

 with the trunk. A cleft is then prepared in the stump, not by 

 splitting it with a grafting tool as is usually done with fruit- 

 trees in the North, but by using a saw. After sawing to a depth 

 of 4 to 8 inches, depending on the size of the stub, the saw is 

 removed and a soft wooden wedge is inserted in the top of the 

 cleft and driven down until the lower end of the cleft begins 

 to split. This produces the steady pressure necessary to hold 

 the cion firmly in place. 



Cions are cut from wood of larger size and more mature growth 

 than is used for budding, branches about \ inch in diameter 

 being preferable. The cion, which should be 6 to 9 inches long, 

 is trimmed on two sides throughout the lower half to a slender 

 tapering point at the bottom. It is then placed in position in 

 the cleft and forced downward until the upper end of the cut 

 surface is flush with the top of the stub. One cion is placed in 

 the cleft at each side of the stub, nearly even with the surface 

 of the bark on the outside. The wedge which has been used 

 to keep the cleft open is now partly withdrawn until the cions 

 are clamped firmly by the pressure of the two halves of the 

 stub, when it is sawed off flush with the top of the stub and 

 allowed to remain in place so that the pressure on the cions 

 will not become too great. 



After the cions are properly placed, the cleft is filled with 



