162 Fruit-growing in Arid Regions 



difference in some climates. The open winters in the 

 Middle West are especially likely to start early growth. 

 The object of keeping the cions dormant is to allow time 

 for a partial union before the buds are started into growth 

 by the warm days of the grafting season. Cions with 

 buds well swollen often throw leaf surface before a 

 sufficiently strong union has been made. The result is 

 the exhaustion of the stored-up food supply and moisture 

 of the cion to a point that may cause its death. 



The cions may be stored in sand in a cool corner of 

 the cellar or buried out-of-doors. The main object is 

 to keep them cool and moist and away from fluctuating 

 temperatures. An excellent plan is to bury them on 

 the north side of a building or in some spot that is shaded 

 most of the day. They need not be buried deep, from 

 twelve to eighteen inches being sufficient in a well-shaded 

 spot. 



Growing the Top. It would hardly seem wise to leave 

 the subject of top-working old trees without some com- 

 ment on future treatment of the grafts. The setting of 

 the cions is only the first step in working over the tree. 



Should we stop here, a most miserable failure or, at 

 least a poor top, might be the result. Many a good 

 "catch" is ruined by neglecting the pruning the first two 

 seasons. 



In the first season the grafts should make a very rank 

 growth and they will require some pinching-back to save 

 them from becoming top-heavy and consequently easily 

 blown out. The common practice is to head-in the rapidly 

 growing shoots when they have attained a length of 

 eighteen inches to two feet. This forces branches from 



