CALIFORNIA OLIVE CULTURE GRAFTING AND BUDDING. 41 



The cion is driven down as far as it will go, and is made to fit 

 exactly (both barks to be even) on the surface side; the other 

 side does not matter, as the union of the cion and stock is on the 

 surface side. In time both sides heal over. After the cion is 

 inserted it must be tied and waxed, and if the operation is per- 

 formed low it must be covered up with earth, leaving as little 

 of the cion exposed as possible. The entire leaves on the cions 

 must not be cut off; at least one third of the leaf must be left, 

 to prevent them from drying before they have time to unite 

 with the stock. Also, the entire leaf must not be allowed to 

 remain on the cion; the trimming of the same prevents it from 

 carrying off too rapidly the fluids by evaporation. In this 

 method great care must be exercised in making the cleft. A 

 cleft made in the center of the stock generally causes the stock 

 to split too far at the time the cion is inserted, and it is difficult 

 to get a perfect fit. The more the cion is pushed down into the 

 cleft the more the stock will split; this often results in the loss 

 of the entire tree. 



The best time to graft the olive is when the trees commence 

 to put forth new growth in the spring, through the summer 

 months, and late in the fall when they are commencing to 

 relax in growth. 



Crown Grafting. Crown grafting is practiced, from Feb- 

 ruary to April, according to locality, when the trees are in sap 

 and the bark can be easily detached. The stocks must be 

 cleanly cut off thirty days before.. When the time of grafting 

 has come the wounds are revived with the pruning knife and 

 the dry portion is taken off. This mode of grafting is suitable 

 for trees of average and of large size; for the latter it is even 

 necessary, because it permits the insertion of several cions in 

 proportion to the vigor of the stock itself. The cion is made 

 about two to four inches in length. The higher portion has 

 two or three buds, and the cut of the lower end is made 

 obliquely, like a flattened wedge. The wedge must begin in 

 front of a bud, starting from the medular sheath and ending 

 by continually thinning in an acute form. Being thus deprived 

 of the pith, it adheres better to the stock; it must have, there- 

 fore, but little thickness. The insertion is made on top of the 

 stock, in a cut between the bark and the wood. To facilitate 

 the entering of the cion its point is either sharpened or 



