GRAFTING 89 



nents at a critical time in its history. He established 

 a course in nuciculture at Cornell University and was 

 laying plans for the sort of experimental work which 

 can be carried out to advantage by a team of students 

 under the direction of a guiding hand. The author 

 at this time established at Cornell a collection of the 

 edible nuts of the world which is now on public ex- 

 hibition in the College of Agriculture. 



Mr. Frederick V. Coville, of the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, has suggested that scions be 

 prepared for rooting purposes by girdling twigs in 

 early autumn and taking off one-half inch of bark, 

 the upper cut beginning one-quarter inch below a 

 bud. The scions so prepared are from four to eight 

 inches in length. The principle includes the idea of 

 having a large amount of reparation material thrown 

 out from the cambium layer of the scion and suffi- 

 ciently suberized to give protection against microbic 

 enemies when scions are to be planted later for root- 

 ing purposes. This method of preparation of scions 

 would theoretically result in an increase in the 

 amount of organic food stored up in the stems above 

 the girdled point, for the reason that food elaborated 

 by the leaves would remain in the girdled twig which 

 could not send its supply of food down to the gen- 

 eral storehouse of the whole tree. The quantitative 

 increase in organic food in the stems would probably 

 result in qualitative changes in the character of the 

 food supply stored up in the girdled twig, transform- 

 ing the twig into a sort of seed. A somewhat sim- 

 ilar process occurs naturally in the black willow, 



