IHE CHINESE JUJUBE. 15 
should be heaped up so that the upper end of the scion is covered 1 
to 1J inches. This will prevent drying out. a precaution absolutely 
essential to success. 
Where the grafting is done in the field the scion wood can be cut 
at the same time, even though the trees are beginning to grow. The 
bud that produces the new plant is a dormant one that would not 
grow under ordinary circumstances, but when the short branch 
above it is cut off. as is the case in preparing the scion, the bud is 
forced out when the stock starts to grow. As soon as the stocks 
begin Jo push and are full of sap they are ready to be grafted. 
The whipgraft is used and should be tied with raffia and waxed. 
The soil should be removed from around the stock, so as to allow 
sufficient room to make the graft below the surface of the soil. 
After the graft is made and tied, the soil should be replaced and 
heaped up sufficiently to cover the scion to a depth of 1 to 1-J inches, 
as in the case of the bench grafts. 
Where large seedling trees several years old are available or 
where stocks are too large to be successfully grafted by the whip- 
graft, the cleft-graft has been used. The operation is the same as 
for other fruits. 
CULTURE. 
CLIMATE. 
The jujube grows vigorously in hot climates and reaches its best 
development where the weather is dry. the sunshine brilliant, the 
nights warm, and the summer long and hot. The southwestern sec- 
tion of the United States, with the exception of the elevated portions 
where the summer nights are too cool and limited areas, such as 
coastal regions, where the humidity may retard fruit production, is 
well adapted to jujube culture. The drier sections of some of the 
Southern States have produced some excellent fruit. The jujube 
has withstood temperatures of —22° F. without injury (5). but 
growth in regions where the summers are cool is very slow, and the 
number of fruits produced is few or none, as compared with the 
rapid growth and abundant and regular fruiting secured where the 
temperature sometimes reaches 120° F. 
Because of its late flowering, the jujube is free from spring frost 
injury. In regions where the peach, almond, and apricot bloom in 
February, the jujube does not begin to flower until about May 20. 
long after danger from frost is over. Those who have lost fruit 
crops from frost can appreciate the great advantage of a tree that 
produces a good crop year after year without being injured by late 
frosts. 
Sufficient data are not available to determine the minimum water 
requirement. The trees do well in Texas without irrigation: they 
also do well in California both with and without irrigation. During 
the first few year- they require about the same quantity of water as 
any young deciduous orchard tree under similar conditions. After 
they have become established they will withstand more drought than 
other deciduous fruit trees under the same conditions. 
It should be remembered that while the jujube will grow and 
produce a good crop of fruit with a limited supply of water, it will 
also respond to irrigation by producing more and larger fruits. 
