THE CHESTNUTS AMERICAN CHESTNUT. 81 



allowed to grow on the stock. In Kansas dormant buds, set as early in the spring as 

 the bark will peel, have given satisfactory results. The wood was removed from the 

 bud. In Maryland fair success is reported with budding the same as for other fruits, 

 except that the wood is left in the bud; satisfactory results are also obtained with 

 whip grafts while the trees are small. In Michigan root grafting has been attended 

 with some success. Satisfactory results have been obtained by the usual methods of 

 cleft, saddle, and splice grafting when the work was done early in the season. In New 

 Jersey some seasons give much better results than others. Some growers report their 

 custom to be cleft graft in April with not more than one-twentieth failures. Others 

 whip graft small trees, of 1 inch or less, and wrap with waxed muslin ; on larger trees, 

 from 2 to 12 inches, they slip graft and cover well with wax. J. T. Lovett says 

 American stock is better than Spanish or European for grafting the Japanese nuts. 

 He does not know that it is the best, but it is the best he has used. Two or 3 feet above 

 the ground has given best success. Low-set grafts are liable to be broken out in work- 

 ing the first season. He has worked both whip and crown method, and the former has 

 been more successful. Unless the graft and stock are both cut very true and smooth, 

 so that the former will fit the latter closely the entire length of the cut, the union will 

 not be perfect and a large excrescence of unnatural growth will form at the junction ; 

 this will increase from year to year until the graft is broken out. 



In New York both budding and grafting of Japanese chestnut on native stocks 

 have been successful in Rockland Couuty. Whip grafting early in March has been 

 successful in Washington County. In Yates County both whip and cleft grafting have 

 been attended with good success, but generally growers bud here in the nursery rows. 

 In Ohio both budding and grafting are quite successful. One method of successful 

 budding here is to cut a bud with a square plate of bark, take it off carefully, say, 

 three-fourths to 1 inch square, place it on the tree, and cut out a plate of bark so the 

 bud will exactly fit. Then remove the bark from the stock and carefully place the 

 bud in and tie firmly. In Pennsylvania budding is reported as unsatisfactory, but 

 grafting has been fairly successful. H. M. Engle's method has generally been cleft 

 grafting; he finds little if any difference whether the scions are cut in the fall or in 

 the spring. He has been quite successful with scions cut in grafting season, and put in 

 at once, even so late that the buds have swollen. The grafting wax is made about the 

 consistency of taffy, in which condition it can be kept for years in a cool place. The 

 best success is reported with trees 3 to 4 feet high, top grafted. In Chester County, 

 J. Hibbard Bartram finds it hard to get chestnut grafts to take. He has cleft grafted 

 some, but mostly whip graft. He had a few to grow in a clearing by placing the scions 

 down between the bark and wood. Has succeeded best by grafting late. In Mont- 

 gomery County budding was successful with John D. Souder, while grafting was not. 

 In Bucks County, H. W. Comfort has grafted trees 5 feet high or taller, sawing off 

 square and splitting, then using two scions. He has been moderately successful. 

 Samuel C. Moon's method of grafting is to cut the scions early and keep them dormant 

 in an ice house until the stocks start and their buds are well swollen, usually about the 

 middle of April. Then cut off the tops and insert tongue grafts and wrap with waxed 

 muslin. It is important that the stock and scion be nearly the same diameter, other- 

 wise the union will be imperfect. There is not much difficulty in grafting well-estab- 

 lished, thrifty trees of any size, providing branches can be found of proper size to fit 

 the grafts. Mr. Moon says : " I have tried grafting one-year seedlings at the collar as 

 they stood in the nursery row; also by taking them up and grafting on whole roots as 

 apples are done, but without succesa. I have also failed with budding in the ordinary 

 way." 



F. W. Burbidge 1 affirms that the chestnut succeeds well grafted on young seed- 

 lings of black oak, while Baltet 2 says: "The chestnut succeeds when grafted on 



1 Cultivated Plants, page 271. 2 Art of Grafting and Budding, page 176. 



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