184 ORANGE CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



brush apply a good coat of grafting wax to the top of the stock 

 and the lower end of the graft. A good brush can be made of 

 baling rope or common sea grass. Cut off pieces about four 

 inches long, comb out the fibers and tie them fast to a wooden 

 handle an inch in diameter and a foot in length. The heat of 

 the wax does not injure a brush made of this material. 



The wax is made of four parts of resin and one part of bees- 

 wax melted together and applied quite hot. This fills all the 

 openings, hermetically seals the graft and stock, and excludes 

 rain or moisture. The wax resists the action of the sun's rays. 

 It is advisable, however, to cover the graft with soil, except a 

 small portion at the upper end. 



The future treatment of the graft consists principally in Iteep- 

 ing the suckers off, to force the flow of sap into the graft. I 

 have found this method of grafting very successful. 



Budding has been found to be so much more expeditious and 

 satisfactory than grafting, that the latter has been almost entirely 

 abandoned by nurserymen, unless it be when it may be advisable 

 to overcome the influence of stocks of dwarfish habit. Large 

 trees can be expeditiously and successfully grafted by the above 

 method. The month of March is the best season in which to 

 graft. 



