193 THE NUT CULTUIilST. 



twigs of the previous season's growth are usually pre- 

 ferred, but it is not necessary, nor is it advisable to dis- 

 card all except the extreme end of the shoot or that 

 containing a terminal bud, as some writers have advised, 

 to prevent rapid loss of moisture by evaporation, for a 

 drop of wax will seal the end of a cion as thoroughly 

 and effectually as a natural bud ; besides, the lower part 

 of the annual twigs is often more lirm and really better 

 for grafting than the upper and less sturdy wood, and 

 the lateral buds on it will push Just as readily as the 

 terminal one. The cion may be three or four inches 

 long, and contain two or more buds. The sealing of 

 the upper end of a cion that is not protected by a ter- 

 minal bud is certainly important with all of the hick- 

 ories, for in this genus of trees the pith is large and 

 continuous, not intersected or cut off by a thin partition 

 of wood at the Joints, as seen in many trees, shrubs and 

 vines. This large and continuous pith in the hickories 

 is another reason why the cions succeed best if set below 

 the crown and in or on the fleshy roots having no pith. 

 They may be set on one side, as in splice grafting, or in 

 the center, or in a cleft made for their reception with a 

 sharp knife, then bound with waxed paper, or wrapped 

 with bass, raffia, or other similar material, and after- 

 wards covered with melted wax to exclude air and water 

 from the Joints and wounds. 



In this mode of grafting hickories it is not neces- 

 sary to employ the entire root or stock, if it is of large 

 size, for a single cion ; for pieces of from six to twelve 

 inches long, containing a few latei-al fibers, will answer 

 the purpose, and it will be found, in practice, that these 

 sections of the large flesliy roots contain so much vital- 

 ity that, if the cions set in them fail to grow, they will 

 throw up sprouts from adventitious buds during the 

 ensuing summer. Almost any fair-sized piece of root 

 left in the ground, when digging up hickory trees large 



