APRIL 



On the farm. During this month we shall be very 

 busy on the farm. There is spring plowing to do, gar- 

 den to make, trees and shrubs to plant, fruit trees to 

 propagate and spray, and corn to plant. 



LESSON LXVI 



GRAFTING FEUIT TREES 



In the early April when the sap begins to flow in the 

 fruit trees, we shall propagate some new varieties of 

 apples in the tops of the older trees. By a process 

 known as grafting, we can force trees to produce dif- 

 ferent varieties of fruits. There are two common meth- 

 ods of grafting the tongue or whip graft, and the cleft 

 graft. 



Practical Exercises 



1. The Tongue Graft 



If the class cannot go to an orchard for this lesson, 

 bring several branches of apple tree into the school- 

 room. Choose a stock upon which you intend to graft 

 the desired variety. Then select from the variety de- 

 sired a twig that is about the thickness of the young 

 tree at the point where you wish to graft. Be careful 

 to select the shoot or scion from a healthy part of the 

 tree. Cut the scion and stock as you would the mouth 

 parts of a boy's whistle, then make a vertical slit across 

 the cut surface. Join the cut end of the scion to the 



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