LUTHER BURBANK 



and over again for many years, being planed off 

 as the occasion requires and repainted. 



Many thousands of these label stakes are used 

 each season on my experimental grounds. For 

 smaller beds I use a stake usually 1 inch wide, 

 from % to ^ of an inch thick, and from 10 to 14 

 inches in length. These smaller plant stakes may 

 be purchased of dealers, and are prepared for use 

 in the same way as the larger ones. 



For use on trees a special label is employed, 

 to make records of budding, grafting, and varia- 

 tion. This label is usually 5 or 6 inches long, and 

 from 3-16 to % of an inch thick. It is notched 

 at one end and attached to the branch of a tree 

 with a piece of pliable galvanized iron wire. The 

 wire should be loose enough to avoid any danger 

 of strangling the branch. 



The labels are painted with white lead. They 

 sometimes remain upon the trees for five, ten or 

 even fifteen years. To inscribe these permanent 

 labels, I use a thick black paint, composed of a 

 mixture of lamp black, linseed oil, and a little 

 turpentine, applying the mixture with a small 

 camel's hair brush. The names of varieties, the 

 parentage, and other important matters are thus 

 recorded. Then, while the paint is still wet, some 

 fine dry sand is sifted over the label so as to 

 protect the paint from the weather. 



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