52 
Grafting Cherries 
Will you tell me when to cut cherry 
grafts and how and where to keep them, 
when and how to graft them, etc.? I have 
grafted almost all fruits but pit or stone 
fruits. I have several sprouts I would 
like to graft. S. L. F. 
Augusta, W. Va. 
This grafting in no way differs from 
the method of cleft-grafting apple or any 
other fruit. However, there are two slight 
additional precautions that may well be 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
wax. Even then, to make sure of a se¬ 
cure job, I always finished with a wrap 
of a strip of muslin, passing one end oyer 
the waxed end of the stock, then wrapping 
to cover the waxed sides of the cleft, fas¬ 
tening the free end of the wrap with a 
dab of wax. and finishing with a second 
coat of wax over the muslin on top, and 
along the cleft sides, and not neglecting 
to dab a bit of wax on the top ends of 
the scions, making all exposed cut sur¬ 
faces absolutely air and water-tight. 
The stock should be cut straight across 
and smoothed with a knife. Usually it is 
K ' 
’■ *• *•*'•*' 
• * V V . • 
Handy Grafting Tool 
taken. First, the pit fruits, especially 
cherries, have a tough outer bark running 
around the tree transversely to the inner 
bark. To insure smooth edges to the cleft, 
before cleaving the stock, it is well to cut 
through the bark on each side with a knife 
where the cleft is to be. The second pre¬ 
caution consists in care that the frail 
bark on the thin wedge of the scion is not 
stripped or injured in cutting same, or 
inserting in cleft. This precaution is in 
order in grafting any fruit, but the bark 
on cherry is unusually frail. Some insist 
that cherries are particularly difficult to 
graft successfully, but I have not found 
them so. 
As to time of cutting scions, I have 
never cut and stored them in advance, but 
have always cut and set them at onqp. 
The work was usually done in the inter¬ 
val between severe freezing weather and 
the beginning of active growth in the 
Spring, say late in March or early April 
in the latitude of Philadelphia. However, 
taking chances, I have successfully set ] 
scions after the buds had distinctly swol¬ 
len and showed points of greening between 
the scales of the buds. 
If for any reason it is desirable to .ut 
and store scions in advance, they should 
be cut while perfectly dormant, before 
March 1, should not be handled while 
frozen, and should be stored in moist sand 
in a cool cellar, or buried in a well- 
drained spot on the north side of some 
building until wanted. With scions held 
in this way the work could be done later. 
For the general reader it may not be 
amiss to emphasize the fact that grafting 
seedling fruit trees, or undesirable sorts, 
to choice varieties, is a fascinating and 
withal a simple method of increasing the 
home supply of fruit on the average farm. 
A lifelong interest attaches to a tree that 
one has changed by his own skill from an 
encumbrance to a thing of choice value. 
Having acquired this simple art. and 
it really is simple, a man having chance 
seedling stocks of fruits or nuts about his 
place, or undesirable varieties, with a 
very little time and effort can secure twigs 
of the choicest varieties, some nameless 
and some name unknown, which he may 
chance to know of in the surrounding 
country, set them and watch them as they 
develop, in the calm assurance that when 
they come to bearing there will be no 
question as to whether they will prove 
true to expectations or turn out to be 
something else. 
At a pinch the implements needed to 
perform the work consist of nothing more 
than a sharp pocketknife, a butcher knife, 
a hand saw. a light mallet or short stick 
ofihard wood, and a wedge-shaped stick of 
hard wood with which to pry the cleft 
open to insert the scion; also grafting 
wax and stx-ips of some light material like 
muslin, for wrapping. A basket for carry¬ 
ing these articles is a convenience. 
The butcher knife would be used to 
split the stock. If any considerable 
amount of work is to be done, the knife 
and the wooden opening wedge should be 
replaced by an implement, known as a 
grafting iron, which can be forged from 
an old file by any skilled blacksmith. This, 
when properly fashioned, consists of a 
blade about 4 in. long, 1% in. wide and 
something less than V\ in. thick at the 
back. From one end there is a projection 
of 3 in., ending in a wedge turned at 
right angles, opposite the edge of the 
blade. The wedge should be about I in- 
long, % in. wide and U in. thick at the 
base. The other end of the tool is ex¬ 
tended about 5 in. for a handle and ends 
in a hook turned the same direction as 
the blade. The hook is convenient for 
hanging on branches when top-working 
large trees. A pruning saw, too, is more 
convenient than a larger saw. 
Grafting wax is usually made by melt¬ 
ing together rosin, beeswax and tallow. 
Recipes differ in proportions given, but 
equal parts of each, by weight, heated and 
thoroughly mixed over a slow fire, will be 
found satisfactory. This can be poured 
into cool water, and after greasing the 
hands it may be pulled and worked like 
candy. In this form many use the wax 
cold, pressing and rubbing it into place. 
Rut I have noticed that there is a ten¬ 
dency for the wax to check along the cleft 
after a time when applied in this way, 
admitting air and moisture, so I much 
prefer to apply the wax in liquid form 
with a brush. For this purpose I had a 
special wax-pot made on the principle of 
the double boiler; water in the lower ves¬ 
sel. the wax in the upper, thus retaining 
heat and preventing the burning of the 
safest to saw off the stock twice; first a 
foot or so above the point where grafts 
are to be set, and then again at point 
desired. This will insure against torn 
bark. 
The scions should be prepared only as 
they are set, to avoid drying of the ex¬ 
posed tissue. For this work a knife of 
razor keenness is of prime importance; 
for any tearing of the bark tissue, instead 
of clean cutting, reduces the chances of 
success. The scions should be cut from 
healthy, vigorous twigs, of last year’s 
growth. There should not be more than 
three buds to a scion, and two are prob¬ 
ably better. The lowest of these should 
be just a little above the wedge of the 
scion, and of course on the outside when 
set. The wedge of the scion should be 
from iy 2 to 2 in. long, tapering evenly 
to not quite a knife edge point, and 
should be just a trifle thicker on the outer 
side than on the inner. 
With the stock cut and smoothed and 
the scions prepared, we are ready to 
insert them. The cleft 6hould not be 
split deeper than necessary to receive the 
scions The wedge tool is then inserted 
and the cleft pried open so that the scions 
may be slipped easily and accurately into 
place. Here is the most critical point of 
the operation. The union of the stock 
and scion can only take place along the 
line where bark and wood join, hence due 
allowance must be made for the difference 
in thickness of the bark of stock and 
scion. As this line is not in view, the 
adjustment depends on the judgment of 
the operator. The easiest method of get¬ 
ting a nice adjustment is to set the scions 
nearly even with the outer surface of the 
stock, and then easing the grip of the 
cleft stock with the wedge tool, press the 
tips of the fingers firmly against the lower 
end of the wedge of the scion, thus forcing 
it slightly inward and securing a long 
contact on the line of union. In fact, if 
rightly done, it is possible to insure the 
crossing of this line at two points, for 
sighting along the bark line of a scion 
prepared in wedge-shape it will be seen 
that this line is slightly curved, bending 
outward at the middle. 
Just a little of the cut surface of the 
wedge of the scion should show above the 
stock, as it will grow over the stock bet¬ 
ter than if set too low. Two scions, one 
on each side, are set on a stock. Four 
may be set on a cross cleft on a large 
stock, but this is hardly ever advisable, 
as it is better to graft branches rather 
than the main limbs or trunk of a good- 
sized tree. In top-working sizable trees it 
is best to graft only some of the branches, 
working the rest the following year, or if 
enough has been set to insure a good head 
January 10, 1920 
the remaining branches may be pruned 
out the following Winter. 
Florida. d. l. hartman. 
Cherries for the Cold Sections 
At Morrisville, N. Y., we have been 
running a test on varieties of fruit for 
about 10 years to find the best varieties 
for the extremely cold sections of the 
country. The old proverb, “Plant a sour 
cherry if planting one tree, then try a 
sweet one if that lives,” has worked out to 
perfection here. The altitude is 1.500 ft. 
and the season as short as any place in 
New York State. Both sweet and sour 
varieties were planted, and at present the 
results are striking. Not a sweet cherry 
tree is alive, though we planted all the 
main varieties, including Black Tartarian 
and Napoleon. Nearly all the stocks are 
growing finely, showing that it is the 
sweet cherry hud itself which is not hardy. 
The sour cherries are doing well, and 
produce good crops. The trees have not 
been injured in the least by the cold Win¬ 
ters. We find the Richmond for early, 
Montmorency for main crop and English 
Morello for late all do nicely, and can be 
recommended for the coldest sections. 
Morrisville, N. Y. t. n. townsend. 
“But weren’t you afraid of those In¬ 
dians in the remote regions of Oklahoma?” 
asked the gentle old lady whose knowledge 
of other peoples was limited. “I certainly 
was,” replied her traveled nephew. “Why, 
I wouldn’t even look at their oil options, 
let alone invest in them.”—Kansas City 
Times. 
“Who is the fellow who is kicking so 
strenuously about two cents advance on 
a quart of milk? His laugauge is terri¬ 
ble.” “He’s the man who just paid .$10 
for a quart of liquor.”—Louisville 
Courier-Journal. 
200Homes 
Made Comfortable because Mrs Gouter 
had such perfect results from her N. P. Sterling 
John H. Westerman, the Sterling Dealer of Walden, N. Y., in 1916 sold an N. P. Sterling 
Furnace to Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Couter. Their house had long been heated with stoves and 
had a low cellar under only a portion of it in which they stored their apples, winter vegeta¬ 
bles, etc. Mrs. Couter was tired of uneven heat and the constant care of her stoves, so Mr. 
Westerman came to her rescue. Said he coukTinstall a furnace in their cellar by cutting only 
one hole in the floor, heat the entire house evenly, and yet keep the cellar cool for storage 
purposes. . . 
The N. P. was installed. Friends and neighbors dropped in to call and after enjoying the 
solid comfort of her well heated home and hearing how easy and economical it was to run 
the N. P., went to see Mr. Westerman with the result that during 1919 alone over one hun¬ 
dred homes in and about Walden were equipped with the 
A 
mm 
■ 
THE ONE-REGISTER FURNACE 
This furnace made good in Walden because it did its work satisfactorily wherever installed. Year after year 
more N. P.’s went into service because others proved satisfactory the year before and the year before that. 
The N. P. will make good in your home too because it is scientifically designed by heating experts to deliver 
the most heat from the least fuel and deliver it where you want it when you want it. 
Look at the small diagram and you will see why. 
A. Scientific Sterling construction insuring perfect combustion and saving fuel, 
B. Extra large heating dome which heats air passing 
around it more quickly and to higher temperature with 
less fire. 
C. Outside air passages keep the air cool way to 
the bottom of the furnace and so make the air 
flow very swiftly into and through the heating 
chambers D, and then pours it out with great 
force through the register. 
These outside air passages are vital Sterling 
features. 
Here are some others: a cool cellar* feed door large enough for 
chunks of wood, heavy grey iron castings (no scrap used), special fire 
pot if natural gas and solid fuel are used, special three point dust and 
gas proof joints, extra large air moistener. 
It will pay you to send today for the free booklet giving the de¬ 
tails about the N. P. and also the name of the nearest dealer. 
Remember 70 years of experience in building Ranges and Heaters 
is back of every N. P. 
SILL STOVE WORKS 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
Makers of the Sterling Range 
The Range that bakes a barrel of flour 
with a single hod of coal 
■ H 
mMlm 
mh 
STPRUNC^ 
-■■■ 
,S 
