104 NUT GROWING 



modified wedge being shaped with a long cut on one 

 side and a short one on the other side. (Figs. 

 3 and 4.) If the sun is shining brightly and the 

 barometer is high when grafting is being done it is 

 well to have a little pail of Knudson solution at hand 

 into which the cut end of the scion is dipped occa- 

 sionally while it is being shaped. This will prevent 

 injury to cambium cells, which suffer almost in- 

 stantly when they are exposed to bright light and dry 

 air. The older horticulturists chose cloudy days or 

 sunless parts of the day for their difficult grafting, 

 but we may now work at high noon in sunshine if a 

 dipping solution is carried along with the kit of 

 tools. 



The kind of knife that is used will have much to 

 do with success in grafting. The knife should have 

 a large handle for firm grasping and the blade should 

 be inflexible and very sharp indeed. It must have 

 an edge which will bring terror to the heart of a 

 mother of boys. After using many kinds of graft- 

 ing knives I finally settled down upon just one model 

 after learning that Mr. J. F. Jones and other pro- 

 fessional grafters had done the same thing. The 

 knife has a wooden handle five inches in length and 

 the blade a trifle less than three inches in length. 

 It is made by Maher and Grosch for the wholesale 

 trade and kept in stock with other grafting acces- 

 sories by Mr. Jones for the retail trade. It is shown 

 in the figures of grafting. 



Shaping of each scion before cutting it away from 

 the bud stick may be done to advantage if one is 



