46 



1917 ANNUAL REPORT 



prices demanded for budwood and scions of the best varieties, grafting is 

 practically out of the question to all but those who themselves possess the 

 wood. 



For those who possess or are able to get budwood, the best plan I 

 know is to graft in February. This necessitates cutting the tree back, and 

 if for any reason the grafts fail to live, budding may be resorted to later 

 in the spring when the tree has made new shoots of sufficient size. Last 

 year we worked over an orchard of some two hundred trees by following 

 this plan. All of the trees were grafted in February and we seemed in a 

 fair way to succeed by this method, but unfortunately were caught by a 

 protracted spell of unseasonable hot weather which destroyed nearly all 

 of the grafts. This left the trees cut back and ready to make new sprouts 

 for budding, which they did by June and into which we proceeded to in- 

 sert buds. This work was followed up through the summer, new buds be- 

 ing placed where the first had failed, either in the same shoots or others. 

 Also each bud was carefully watched and when it seemed to be living, the 

 shoot or young limb into which it had been placed was gradually cut back 

 so as to throw the energy into the bud instead of the limb. Three or four 

 cuts were made in each case before the shoot was finally removed down to 

 the bud. The stub of the limb was then painted over with grafting wax 

 and the bud, by this time perhaps 6 or 8 inches long, with its dozen or 

 more companions, allowed a free hand to go on and make a new top for 

 the tree. At this time, about eleven months from budding, all of my trees 

 have beautiful new tops, some of which are already blooming. When two 

 years have elapsed, the time usually allotted for making a new top on a tree, 

 these trees will doubtless be quite as large as they were before being cut 

 back and will be bearing some fruit. Had the grafts not met with disaster, 

 they would have been much further along. You are all invited to visit this 

 orchard and receive such practical instruction in the art of top-working as 

 we are able to give. 



It is not my purpose in this paper to deal technically with the science 

 of budding and grafting, for it is a science as old as time and there are 

 many experts far more competent to instruct than myself. Methods of 

 avocado budding and grafting do not differ essentially from those em- 

 ployed with other plants. You will find many men of experience to exe- 

 cute your work once you have decided on the variety you want and ar- 

 range for the budwood. Just a word, however, on the all-important point 

 of following up the work after the bud is known to have "taken." If the 

 young limb or shoot in which the bud is growing is not cut back from time 

 to time as the bud comes out, it will, in most cases, gradually overcome the 

 bud and kill it. A bud once started must be kept growing and not allowed 

 to suffer a check by reason of suckers or the limb in which it is placed be- 

 ing neglected. I believe more buds are lost from this cause than from all 

 others combined. A well known expert has likened the bud to a rolling 

 log: "Keep the log in motion and your task is easy, but once stopped it is 

 hard to start again." 



Another plan for top-working practiced with great success by a well 

 known Pasadena expert, is to bud direct into the old wood after first scrap- 

 ing the bark to make it thin and pliable, the mechanical difficulty of plac- 

 ing the tender bud under the old bark being thus overcome. The expert re- 



