12 



and the pot so fastened as to prevent disturbance by the winds. Then 

 a thin strip of bark and wood from 3 to 5 inches in length should be 

 removed with a sharp knife from the trunk of the seedling and one of 

 similar shape from the scion, leaving a few inches of the end of the 

 scion above the cut section. The cut surfaces are then placed to- 

 gether, so that the bark and cambium meet over as long an area as 

 possible, and are tied firmly with cord or raffia. It is not necessary 

 to apply grafting cloth, wax, or similar materials in inarching. At 

 the time of inarching, the tip should be removed from the stock, and 

 in three or four weeks the seedling should be cut back within one or 

 two nodes of the union. When the union is well 'formed, the seedling 

 should be cut off just above, and the inarched branch just below, the 

 union. When the plant is cut from the parent tree it should be shel- 

 tered from the sun for a few days, then placed in partial shade a 

 week or more and watered frequently. If weather conditions are fav- 

 orable, it will be ready for planting in a permanent place in a few 

 weeks. 



TOP-WORKING OLD TREES. 



There are thousands of large, thrifty, uncultivated mango trees 

 growing in Porto Rico, some bearing almost worthless fruit and as 

 many others producing fruit of poor quality, all of which could be 

 grafted and made to bear superior fruit within a few years. (PI. IV, 

 fig. 1. ) To accomplish this the branches should be cut back nearly to 

 the trunk (PI. IV, fig. 2), and when the new branches which spring 

 from adventitious buds are sufficiently mature — that is, in 6 to 8 

 months — they may be grafted in the manner described above. Al- 

 though a great number of new branches start from near the point 

 where the old branches were removed, only the best of these should be 

 selected for grafting, all the others being removed except a few near 

 the grafts to protect these from wind and sun. While it is some- 

 times recommended to leave a few of the large branches when cutting 

 back the old trees, this has been found unnecessary in Porto Rico, as 

 better results have been obtained where all the branches were re- 

 moved. Where large branches are allowed to remain, the new growth 

 sent out from the stumps of the removed branches is always less 

 vigorous and is not ready for grafting in very dry weather for sev- 

 eral months after that on trees with all of the old branches removed. 



A field nursery is seldom planted in the mango-growing countries, 

 especially in the West Indies, but experiments with field nursery 

 stock have proved the practicability of shipping the small trees short 

 distances and have shown especially the value of a field nursery to 

 growers who are planting a mango grove on their own fruit planta- 

 tion. If the land is well prepared, the seedlings will make nearly 

 if not fully as good a growth in the field nursery as in pots. The 



