16 NUT CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



is unnecessary unless in loose, dry soil or during a dry season. Scions should not 

 be less than 5 or inches long, and those having a terminal bud are preferred. A 

 ball of wet clay may be closely pressed about the wound, and over it the earth should 

 be banked well to the top of the scion. 



The best time for crown grafting is just as growth starts in the spring, but scions 

 should be cut early and stored where they will remain entirely dormant, as in the 

 sawdust of an ice house or in damp sand not exposed to the sun. 



ROOT GRAFTING. 



A few propagators report success with the pecan by the ordinary whip-graft 

 method, as practiced on the apple, but in view of the numerous failures reported by 

 others it can not be recommended for general use. Felix Gillet, of Nevada City, 

 Cal., reports that the only successful method of root grafting the Persian walnut is 

 by what he terms " hothouse grafting." In this method dormant 1-year-old seedlings, 

 which have been stored in sand in the cellar, are cleft grafted with scions stored in 

 a similar way, and of the same size as the stocks and planted in 3-inch pots, the roots 

 being cut back for the purpose. The pots are then placed in a greenhouse and covered 

 with 7-inch soda tumblers to retain moisture. A temperature of 70 F. is maintained 

 for fifteen days or until the grafts have " taken." The glasses are then removed and the 

 grafts are allowed to grow several inches before being set in nursery rows. Mr. 

 Gillet states that by this method 50 per cent of the grafts will grow. It will be 

 observed that this method requires a greenhouse and the care of a skilled operator 

 to insure success. It is therefore expensive and best suited to the propagation of 

 rare varieties by nurserymen who are propagating on an extensive scale. 



TERMINAL CLEFT GRAFTING. 



This method is practiced in France on the walnut and is worthy of thorough 

 trial in this country on all species of Juglans and Hicoria. The grafting is done in 

 early spring before the sap starts. The terminal bud of a thrifty seedling is cleft 

 with a knife, and a short wedge scion, cut from a twig of smaller size, is inserted 

 much the same as in ordinary cleft grafting. It is then tied and waxed, the baud 

 being left on until growth of the scion begins. Sprouts or suckers from the stock must 

 be pinched back to give the graft its share of the sap. 



A similar method is practiced on pines and other coniferous trees, both before 

 and after growth begins, the cleft being made between two buds of the terminal 

 cluster. In the former case the scion is a short terminal section of a shoot of the 

 previous year. It must be carefully tied and waxed and should be covered by a 

 paper bag tied on to protect from the sun and wind. The stouter shoots of the upper 

 whorl on the stock should be cut back to half their length and the slender ones bent 

 downward. Aside from this the stock should not be pruued at time of grafting. 

 Young trees are the best subjects for the operation. The growing grafts require 

 staking for a year or two until the scion and stock are firmly knit together. 



In some parts of France the operation is successfully performed later in the season 

 when the stock and scion are passing from the herbaceous to the woody state and 

 possess sufficient consistency to allow it. 



PLASTIC GRAFTING WAX. 



A good grafting wax is indispensable in the propagation of nut trees. Such can 

 be made by melting together the following: 



Pounds. 



Linseed oil or tallow 1 



Resin 6 



Beeswax 1 



Pour the mass into a tub or bucket of water to cool, and knead it into balls of 

 suitable size to handle. 



