NUT CULTURE TRANSPLANTING, ETC. 17 



LIQUID GRAFTING WAX. 



Tlie following liquid wax is oue of the best in use. It is ready at all times of the 

 year to cover the wounds on trees, and it is very serviceable in grafting. Applied 

 with a varnish brush, the work is quickly and thoroughly done: 



Melt 1 pound of common resin over a gentle fire; add to it 1 ounce of beef tallow. Stir it well. 

 Take from the fire, let it cool a little, then stir into it a tablespoonful of spirits of turpentine and 7 

 ounces of 95 per cent alcohol. If the alcohol cools the mass very rapidly it may be necessary to put 

 it on the fire once more, stirring constantly. The utmost care must be used to prevent the alcohol 

 from igniting. To avoid danger, remove the vessel from the fire when the lumps that have been formed 

 begin to melt. This must be repeated until the whole mass is converted into a homogeneous liquid 

 like thick sirup. 



TRANSPLANTING. 



Having had much experience in setting out nut trees and evergreens, the writer 

 is convinced that the work can be safely done in the following manner: Dig a trench 

 of sufficient depth to get below the surface roots on either side of the nursery row, at 

 such a distance from the trees as will save most of the surface roots. It will be found 

 that notwithstanding the pinching off of the radicle and the later cutting of the 

 taproot with the spade, as previously noted, there will be occasional deep-growing 

 roots that should be saved. These should be smoothly cut at a depth of 2 or 3 feet. 

 Where practicable, the trees should be taken up only so fast as they can be promptly 

 reset in freshly prepared holes. If this is not possible, the roots should be constantly 

 shielded from the sun and wind until the trees are replanted. When removed from 

 the nursery row the roots should be puddled in thin clay. The method of setting is 

 much the same as for the apple or the peach, the surface soil being thrown into the 

 hole about the roots and thoroughly firmed down, then covered by the soil from the 

 bottom of the hole, which should be left as loose and fine as possible. 



IN THE ORCHARD. 



From the sprouting of the nut to the time when the fruit is harvested there is 

 much necessary care and culture that is common to all species of nut-bearing trees. 

 In the orchard varying distances will be found advantageous for planting, based on 

 differences in the sizes and habits of growth of trees of different species. The most 

 widely prevailing error has been in planting too close. The Persian walnut and the 

 almond make no more protest to the growing of crops among them than do the apple 

 and peach. Perhaps the same statement may be made concerning the imported 

 chestnuts, but many propagators of the American chestnut and the pecan insist that 

 these do best without cultivation, and of course without other crops in their midst. 

 H. M. Engle, of Marietta, Pa., thinks that after a chestnut orchard has attained 

 bearing age it should be sown to grass and pastured with sheep to enrich the laud. 

 While it is questionable economy to tax the land for the production of other crops, 

 the evidence now at hand does not justify the conclusion that ordinary cultivation is 

 injurious to nut trees, and in the case of the almond it is commonly necessary for the 

 production of profitable crops. 



LACK OP FRUITFULNESS. 



This may become the cause of serious complaint when a general effort is made to 

 cultivate nuts for market. There is great variation in the fruitfulness of individual 

 trees of the same species of most nut-bearing trees, even when their environments 

 are similar. Most species of nut trees are monoecious, or bisexual that is, the flowers 

 of both sexes are on a single tree. But exceptions have been noted by many observers 

 of supposed dioecious, or unisexual, individuals that is, having the flowers of the two 

 sexes on different trees. In such case trees of both sexes must be planted in close 

 proximity to secure crops of fruit, We suspect that barrenness will more frequently 

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