GRAFTING 119 



it is best not to remove natural shoots closely from 

 a sapling stock before the graft shoot is actually 

 under way, otherwise we may lose the stock. If a 

 graft does not make a start from a sapling stock we 

 need to have at least one natural shoot grow for bud 

 grafting in the late summer or for scion grafting in 

 the following year. 



A new shoot from a graft will sometimes make 

 a tremendous growth before enough sap can be sup^- 

 plied for repairing the wound and conducting the 

 growth at the same time. These large shoots may 

 even fall by their own weight without much wind un- 

 less strongly supported. To obviate this difficulty I 

 pinch off the tops of some growing graft shoots 

 when they have reached a length of a few inches. 

 Natural shoots of the stock tree are then allowed to 

 grow and meanwhile the scion growth is making 

 firmer union with the stock. This obviates the neces- 

 sity for very elaborate and extensive work in sup- 

 porting all of the new grafts. 



There is a tendency for a graft shoot to grow less 

 rapidly than natural shoots, but the latter also are 

 held in check by the tree to a certain extent. It may 

 be that a natural shoot from an end bud or a shoot 

 from a scion bud exerts what is called repressive 

 influence upon growth, preferring merely to main- 

 tain a moderate degree of development until firm, 

 woody union between shoot and stock is secure. We 

 cannot go into the psychology of a tree, but it is a 

 fact that lignification or woody union at the point 

 of junction of the graft or of a natural shoot is not 



