GRAFTING THE PEACH 



281 



A larger cut of bud and adjacent bark is taken when working in 

 old bark than for use on seedlings. When a branch is budded, it 

 is sometimes broken at a distance beyond the bud and allowed to 

 hang, the idea being to furnish the bud some but not too much sap. 

 Some growers thus bud and break part of the branches, allow- 

 ing others to remain unworked, to maintain the growing processes 

 of the tree. These branches and those in which buds have not 

 taken, are cut off and grafted the following spring. The almond 

 is successfully grafted over with the peach, and this course has been 

 followed with thousands of unproductive almonds. 



Grafting the Peach. Grafting the peach by the ordinary top- 

 grafting with a cleft graft seldom succeeds. A side graft with 

 saw and knife is better. It is described by J. W. Mills, formerly of 

 the University Branch Experiment Stations, in southern California, 

 as follows : 



Saw grafting is rapidly taking the place of cleft grafting, for it does away 

 with all difficulties arising from splitting and there is no cavity left in the 

 heart of the limb or tree. The process is to saw off the limb at the desired 

 place as in cleft grafting, then saw across the corner and down the side at 

 an angle of about 45 degrees and trim out with a sharp knife. Place the 

 knife blade a little to one side of the saw cut, a little farther from the edge 

 at the top than at the bottom, and by pressing on the knife the whole sides 

 of the crevice will be trimmed smoothly at one stroke ; this operation repeated 

 on the other side of the saw cut will make a neat notch in the end of a 

 solid limb. By cutting a little deeper from the saw cut at the top than at 

 the bottom, and if the amateur does not trim his scion at the right angle, he 

 can insert it gently in the crevice or notch and see just where to trim. If he 

 is so slow that the fresh cut shows signs of discoloration, he can make a 

 fresh surface by placing his knife parallel to the edges and shaving off a thin 

 slice. He still retains the same angle, but the scion will set a little deeper, 

 which is no objection. By cutting a thin layer off the top of the stump 

 next to the notch will show exactly where the inside layer of bark is. The 

 inside of the scion must be even with the inside layer of the bark of the 

 stump or limb that is being grafted. If the scion is inclined slightly out or 

 in at the top, it will make a correct union at some point and be sure to 

 grow. If the inclination is very slight the union will extend over con- 

 siderable length and will make a much better start than if the union is at 

 only one point, owing to the enlarged surface through which the sap is 

 transmitted. One of the most important points in grafting is to have good 

 wax and go over the grafts a few days after they are put in and rewax them. 



DISEASES OF THE PEACH 



Curl-Leaf. The most prevalent trouble with the peach tree in 

 California is the curl-leaf. It was noticed from the first planting 

 of peach trees by Americans, nearly sixty years ago, and free con- 

 jecture as to its cause was indulged in until it was shown to be 

 a specific fungus, and its prevention by washes of fungicidal 

 character demonstrated. The treatment will be described in the 

 chapter on tree diseases. The facts of its occurrence may be stated 

 as follows : 



Curl-leaf is much more prevalent in some sections than others, 

 and in one place than another in the same section, and some sec- 



