92 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
of saving time thereby, while yet meet¬ 
ing the needs of the greater portion of 
those of this State who require assist¬ 
ance in these matters. 
In all this class of work the first thing 
to consider, after you have the stock to 
work on, is the variety or varieties you 
wish to propagate. If a nurseryman, 
you need more or less of all valuable va¬ 
rieties, but such men know their busi¬ 
ness, and need no instruction from me. 
To the novice in the business and to 
those just entering it let me say, don’t 
mix many varieties in one grove for 
market uses. Two or three at most are 
enough and put these in solid blocks. 
This would not be good advice to the 
pear tree planter, but with citrus fruits 
long practice shows it to be so. If many 
varieties are desired for novelty’s sake, 
or for exhibition, etc., put them, a tree 
or two of a kind, in a block by them¬ 
selves. Having decided, say in the 
fall, what varieties to propagate, cut 
your scions in fall or winter before the 
active movement of sap begins, in late 
January or in February. At this time 
the finest of scions can be cut in plenty. 
In March, April or May much nice 
growth must be sacrificed to secure a 
few poor buds, as nearly every well-de¬ 
veloped bud has put out a sprout that is 
still too tender to use. 
BEST BUDS TO USE. 
In an emergency, however, as where 
it is the only chance of securing a much 
desired variety, almost any kind of bud, 
if rightly handled and the proper stock is 
found, can be made to grow. In such a 
case, buds that have already put out one 
or even two shoots, small buds from tiny 
growth, immature wood freshly cut, or 
buds from the very tips of a scion, will 
give the skilled hand a hope of adding to 
his list of fruits. My choice for fall cut¬ 
ting is fairly matured wood of late sum¬ 
mer or fall growth, showing well devel¬ 
oped buds and thornless. Angular 
wood is not objectionable, but rank 
watersprouts, so-called, from the body 
of the tree should be avoided. Wood 
from a bearing limb is preferred by 
many, but I have little choice between 
that and wood from a thrifty tree of 
younger growth. Either one will give 
fruit as soon as it ought to, rightly han¬ 
dled. Cut the scion with a sharp knife, 
trim off the leaves immediately to pre¬ 
vent evaporation, then lay them on the 
ground in a shady place and cover with 
sphagnum moss, or put them in a box of 
old, partly rotted sawdust. In either 
case, place them where they will be ex¬ 
posed to the weather, and they will cal¬ 
lus at the ends and keep in good shape 
for months. 
From the apparent dormancy of win¬ 
ter until the blossom buds reach the size 
of turkey shot, cleft-grafting may be 
done. Here, from January to early 
March, is usually the best season for the 
orange. 
WAX AND KIT. 
For the work one needs a ball of graft¬ 
ing wax made of three parts rosin, two 
of beeswax and one of tallow, melted to¬ 
gether thoroughly and then turned into 
cold water. When cool enough to han¬ 
dle it should be pulled like molasses 
candy until a light yellow color. A 
small lump of tallow to prevent the wax 
from sticking to the hands should be 
in the kit. A sharp saw, a thin-edged, 
strong knife, three or four hardwood 
