LUTHER BURBANK 



of trees and shrubs; though young tender buds 

 often thrive nearly as well. 



The More Common Methods 



The best and quickest way to graft young 

 seedlings is by "side" grafting. This graft is made 

 by taking a piece of the new wood from the tree 

 to be multiplied, about 2^^ inches long with well 

 formed buds on it. Slice oif both sides of the 

 lower end of the graft in the form of a sloping 

 wedge, the cut on each side being not much over 

 one inch long. Both sides should be alike, but 

 one of the edges should be thicker than the other. 



The tree to be grafted is bent to one side with 

 the left hand. With the right hand a sloping gash 

 is made downward on one side of the tree just 

 above the ground, and the graft, described above, 

 is pushed down into this cut as far as it will go. 

 The cambium layers of the cion and seedling 

 meet at some point, and a union of the tree is 

 formed. After the cion has been placed, the tree 

 is allowed to spring back to its upright position, 

 and is at once cut off with a pair of pruning 

 shears, about two inches above the graft. 



Warm wax is often applied with a small paint 

 brush over the wound to keep out the water, 

 germs, and dry air, though waxing is often omitted 

 with good success if the graft is well covered with 

 earth leaving a single bud above the surface, 



[170] 



