TOP-WORKING FRUIT TREES 
9 
SEASON FOR GRAFTING 
The ideal time for grafting is just as the buds are beginning to 
swell. While cions may be set earlier, there is danger of their dry¬ 
ing out before a union is established. Should one care to prolong 
the season, it is better to run late than to begin early. The opening 
of the season will vary from the first of March to the first of April or 
even later in some parts of the state, and may be extended until the 
first leaves are practically full grown. Good results cannot be ex¬ 
pected from cions set later than this. Some go through the orchard in 
winter and remove the tops of the stubs that are to be grafted, cutting 
them at least a foot above where the cions are to be placed. This 
saves some time, and by hauling the brush out before the grafts 
are set it saves some of them from being knocked out by careless men 
in removing it later. When ready to graft, the stub is recut from a 
foot to eight inches lower. 
PROTECTING THE BODY 
Since the removal of any considerable part of the top often ex¬ 
poses the body of the tree to the direct rays of the sun, it is well to 
whitewash the trunk and main branches. The whitewash reflects the 
rays of the sun and by such an application many cases of sun scald 
may be avoided. A good whitewash may be prepared by using one 
pound of good quicklime to each gallon of water. The addition of a 
pound of salt to each three gallons of the wash tends to make it 
stick better. This can best be applied with a spray pump. A good 
coating can only be secured' with two applications, the second to fol¬ 
low as soon as the first is dry. 
CION-WOOD 
In this connection it is well to say a word about the selection 
of cion-wood for grafting. The man who is interested in his bearing 
orchard has early learned that the individual trees in the plantation 
show a great variation, especially in productiveness, and very often in 
the size, color and quality of the fruit. Some of this variation may 
be accounted for in various ways, but after all, we are coming to 
believe that, environmental conditions being equal, no two trees are 
alike in bearing habits. It is a natural variation. There are trees 
that never bear well and cions from such trees will, no doubt, produce 
trees very much like them. In the selection of grafting wood it is 
well to bear this in mind. Mark your favorite trees and select cion- 
wood from them. 
The wood used should be one year old, strong and well matured, 
but not overgrown. The terminal shoots from trees that have made a 
growth of from twelve to eighteen inches make excellent cions. The 
question is often asked as to the use of watersprouts. The term 
watersprouts may mean different things to different people. By 
watersprouts we generally mean rank growth from adventitious buds; 
and such growths with immature tips, weak buds far apart, and 
pithy centers make very poor cion-wood. Otherwise, any new wood 
with well developed buds, comparatively close together, may be used 
