36 NUT CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



injury to the root system, it demands more than passing notice. It will be remembered 

 (see p. 32) that his orchard site is au exceptionally good one and that his soil is very 

 rich. These two facts, taken in connection with thorough and systematic cultivation, 

 should be duly considered by intending planters, and proper allowance should be 

 made for them. In ordinary situations and soils it is not likely that a practice that 

 involves so severe a shock to a tree that has reached fruiting age would result in the 

 establishment of orchards uniformly thrifty, productive, or lasting. It will in all prob- 

 ability be successful only in rich soil and sheltered locations. Mr. Heath's method 

 necessitates the cutting of the taproot, and we therefore give his experience in regard 

 to that point, quoting from the discussions of the California Horticultural Society: 

 "Some wiseacre, who thought he knew more concerning the cultivating of nuts than 

 any other man in California, discovered in Los Angeles that if you cut the taproot 

 your tree would never bear, and that was published in the papers throughout the State. 

 I said, 'Here is a "pretty kettle of fish" again. I have cut all the taproots in my 

 orchard, and I don't know whether I am going to have any fruit. I will see about 

 this thing.' They said that where the taproot is cut, there the decay would commence, 

 and an insect would attack the root and eat the life out of the walnut tree, and it 

 would finally die. I determined not to be fooled much longer in spending more 

 money, and took two men and went right down into my orchard. I could not make 

 any mistake, because I had cut off every taproot in the orchard. We dug down 

 carefully by the side of a tree I was going to be very careful about it and after they 

 got down below where the taproot was cut, I got my magnifying glass and said : ' Boys, 

 you needn't use your shovels any more.' I wanted to get at this thing with my 

 hands, and took my glass and went down in the hole. I commenced digging like 

 a gopher, and when I got down to where the root was cut, to my surprise there were 

 two taproots, beautiful as could be, sent out from the same place where the taproot 

 was cut. I examined five trees in that way, and each had two taproots, and I made 

 up my mind that the Los Angeles man that had been writing about taproots was in 

 a dream." 



Budding and grafting. In Europe both budding and grafting of the walnut have 

 been practiced from early times. Loudou states that both processes were much more 

 successful in northern Italy and southern France than in northern France or in Eng- 

 land. In the United States both budding and grafting are more easily done at the 

 South than in the North. The methods most commonly followed in the nursery are 

 flute and ring budding (for description and illustration see p. 13), practiced with dor- 

 mant buds in the spring when the sap is in motion or late in summer, as with other 

 fruit trees. It has been found that both methods succeed best when the operation is 

 performed at the collar. Annular and flute budding are preferred to the shield method 

 as being more likely to succeed and less likely to have the young shoots broken down 

 by winds. 



In the United States but little attempt at budding the Persian walnut has been 

 made outside of California. Felix Gillet, of that State, uses both ring and shield 

 methods, budding in summer and using only the small buds from the base of new 

 shoots. He cuts the shield of bark to be inserted not less than '2 inches long and as 

 broad as possible. The wood is carefully removed without injuring the base of the 

 bud, and the branch or shield inserted in the ordinary T-shaped slit made through the 

 bark on a smooth, round section of the trunk of the tree. A bandage is bound evenly 

 with a uniform pressure above and below the eye to insure the contact of the entire 

 under surface of the shield with the cambium layer of the stock. These buds remain 

 dormant until spring, afld the bandages are then cut and the tender sprout trained up 

 to the stump of the tree, which is left several inches high, until late in summer. 



Knight records an instance of successful top-working of the Persian walnut by 

 saddle grafting: ' "Young or last year's wood was employed both as a scion and as 



1 Transactions Horticultural Society, 2d series, Vol. 1, page 216. 



