NUTS. 437 



ice-house is a safe place, or buried in earth where the sun will 

 not warm it early ; otherwise they are apt to start too early. 



Prong Grafting is recommended by B. M. De Long, in the 

 excellent monograph on nut culture, recently issued by the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture,* as follows: 



" In this method the prongs or extremities of the branches 

 are used. Fig. a represents the scion or prong used, and the 



FIG. 571. Prong Grafting. 



method of cutting it from the branch. The prong is cut as 

 illustrated, and the wood on the prong (graft) is partly re- 

 moved, being gouged out with the point of the budding-knife. 

 This is done to allow the inner bark of the bud to unite with 

 the inner bark of the stock, which union would be prevented 

 if the wood should be allowed to remain in the bud. After 

 the wood on the bud has been partly removed, as shown in 

 Fig. 2 , the stock is cut off with a sharp saw, smoothed over 

 with a knife, and the graft inserted as shown in Fig. c, and 

 tied tight; no less than eighteen-ply twine should be used. 

 The cuts are waxed over with grafting-wax. After the grafts 

 have started they should be examined and if the twine is 

 found to begin to cut into the stocks it is untied and tied on 

 again ; this will prevent further injury. The object of allow- 

 ing the twine to remain a longer time is to prevent the cut 



* " Nut Culture in the United States, Embracing Native and Introduced 

 Species." Report by S. B. Heiges, Pomologist. Large octavo, pp. 141, 16 

 plates. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Pomology, Washington, 

 Government Printing Office. 



