Fbbbuaet 8, 1917. 



The Florists^ Review 



19 



BOSE aKAFTING. 



The Stocks. 



The Manetti stocks should be potted 

 in 2%-inch pots and placed in a temper- 

 ature of about 45 to 48 degrees. They 

 should be thoroughly watered and then 

 sprayed at least twice a day. The 

 water from the spraying will be suffi- 

 cient until they begin to show root ac- 

 tion. 



It is not necessary to wait until they 

 start breaking before using them. As 

 soon as they show root action the sap 

 is active enough to start grafting. 



Watch the root action. It will pay 

 to knock out the first ones potted, se- 

 lect those that are starting and begin 

 grafting at once, so as to get as many 

 as possible in during the first part of 

 February. 



"When the Manetti begins to make 

 growth, especially when it is leafing out, 

 you will find that you are not striking 

 as good a percentage of grafts as before. 



So much for the care of the Manetti 

 stocks. 



The Grafting Case. 



The next most important part of 

 grafting is the building of the grafting 

 box or getting it ready. If one has a 

 box built for the purpose, clean it out 

 thoroughly and give it a good coat of 

 whitewash. Be sure that the sashes 

 are properly fitted, so that the box will 

 be as near air-tight as possible. The 

 least draught on fresh cut grafts is 

 dangerous, especially where the wood is 

 a little soft. If once they wilt you 

 may as well throw them away, for they 

 will not catch. 



For the benefit of those who have no 

 box and intend building one, I will offer 

 a few suggestions: Often you visit 

 places where they graft only for their 

 own use and have a poorly constructed 

 box on a side bench, where drip from 

 the gutter or babk wall is causing fun- 

 gus. With such equipment or without 

 the proper piping to keep the temper- 

 ature right, grafting is discouraging 

 and far from profitable. 



The Best Location. 



Select a middle bench five and a half 

 or six feet \tide and fit sashes to both 

 sides. Place a ridge of 2x4 through 

 the center of the bench. Make it high 

 enough so that the sashes will have the 

 proper pitch to drain the moisture that 

 accumulates inside when the box has 

 been watered down and closed. Hinge 

 the sashes to the ridge, which wfll save 



a lot of trouble in raising and lowering, 

 when it comes time to ventilate. 



Use an 8-inch sideboard, so that the 

 plants will have plenty of room after 

 about five inches of sifted ashes are 

 put in to stand the grafts on. Ashes 

 are a great deal better than sand, as 

 one is less liable to get fungus in the 

 box. Put a tight partition across the 

 box for every three sashes, so that the 

 plants can be ventilated in sections as 

 they grow. It generally takes ten days 

 before the grafts are caught well 

 enough to stand ventilating. Give them 

 only a little air to start with, increas- 

 ing each day as they harden up. 



Selecting the Wood. 



When selecting the grafting wood be 

 careful not to get wood that is too 

 hard. If the thorns are beginning to 

 turn black the wood is by all means too 

 hard. Care must also be taken in re- 

 gard to wood that is too soft. Wood 

 that can be easily crushed by placing 

 it between thumb and forefinger is too 

 soft. Any wood infested with red spi- 

 der or from sickly, overwatered stock is 

 always sure to be a failure. 



Do not take off any large quantity 

 of wood at one time, the object being 

 to prevent it from drying out. It is 



important to keep it wet from the time 

 it is cut off until it is grafted and 

 placed in the case. 



In making the cuts on the Manetti 

 and on the scion be sure they are per- 

 fectly clean; the slightest speck of dirt 

 on either cut when it is tied will cause 

 trouble. Often they catch and start 

 growing (I have seen them make fine 

 4-inch stock) before they show black 

 spots on the graft and become loose on 

 one side, eventually dying. It is safe 

 to say that ninety-eight per cent of all 

 grafts acting in this manner do so be- 

 cause of carelessness in getting dirt 

 between the cuts, or from the use of a 

 dull knife that ruffled the pith of the 

 wood. 



A Close Union. 



When tying the grafts care should 

 be taken not to move the wood out of 

 place, especially where the Manetti 

 stock is heavier than the scion. The 

 bark of the two must be a perfect fit 

 on one side. The same applies to side 

 grafts or those inserted on two-eyed 

 grafts; the wood should be cut on both 

 sides. 



Either rafiKa or string can be used 

 for tying. I prefer common white 

 string; it is quicker to work and does 

 not hold water around the cut so much 

 as raffia, although either can be used 

 with good results. 



Little water should be used on the 

 grafts the first ten days they are in the 

 case. If the Manetti is thoroughly 

 soaked when grafting, a light spraying 

 daily with a rubber cut flower sprayer 

 is sufficient, providing the cinders in 

 the bottom of the case have been well 

 soaked before the pots are placed on it. 



When the grafts are ready to take 

 out of the box and be placed on the 

 bench they should be shaded a little on 

 bright days, as the growth is soft. It 

 generally takes six to ten days before 

 they can stand the full rays of the sun. 

 Jerry P. Jorgensen. 



Waycross, Ga. — The Satilla Pecan 

 Orchard & Stock Co., capitalized at $50,- 

 000, has been organized here, Parks & 

 Reed being the attorneys. The charter 

 permits a general nursery and florists' 

 business being done. 



Montgomery, Ala. — At the recent 

 ''Made in Montgomery" exposition the 

 Rosemont Gardens had an elaborate dis- 

 play in connection with the electric 

 company, the florist showing a wedding 

 decoration and the electric concern stag- 

 ing household utility wedding gifts. 



Prescott, Ariz. — One of the pioneers 

 of the western country, William Need- 

 ham Kelly, who settled in Prescott fifty 

 years ago, died last month from acute 

 indigestion, at the age of 81. He was 

 a prominent Mason and had been asso- 

 ciated with his wife in the Terrace Cot- 

 tage Greenhouse. Mrs. Kelly and a 

 daughter survive. 



Dallas, Tex. — Tlie mayor designated 

 the week beginning January 29 as "Rose 

 and Shrubbery Planting Week " and 

 the trade felt the stimulus. 



Atlanta, Ga. — Wachendorf Bros, say 

 they are having "considerable trouble 

 with a fungus which originates in the 

 wood of the floor of our greenhouse 

 benches. This fungus spreads through 

 the ashes, then makes its way through 

 the drain holes in the pots to the soil, 

 where it spreads until the soil has the 

 appearance of a ball of frost, resulting 

 in the loss of every plant. Our benches 

 are repaired every summer, allowed to 

 dry out thoroughly, all decayed wood re- 

 moved and then whitewashed with hot 

 lime.'' If some of the readers of The 

 Review who have had similar trouble 

 will suggest a remedy this paper will 

 be pleased to print it for the informa- 

 tion of all. 



