neatly fitted together, the tongue on one entering the cleft on the other, making a close joint, as shown in Fig. 14. The bark of the cion and stock should be exactly even on one side at least; and if they are of the same size, so much the better, for then they will be even on both sides; but we cannot expect to secure such perfect joints on every stock, or any considerable number, although we aim to do so as frequently as possible. When the cion is fitted, the waxed paper is applied by placing one end of the strip at or near the base of the splice, then wind it spirally and firmly upward until the entire wound is covered. If one of the waxed strips is not enough use another, for it will do no harm if they are double on a part or all over the joint. The cion should not be much over four inches long, and a less length is preferable, but not so convenient for handling. One good prominent bud on each cion is sufficient, and this left near the upper end, but on short-jointed wood we may use cions with two or more buds without greatly increasing their length. After the cion is in place and every part of the splice is carefully sealed with the waxed paper, place a small piece or a little wax on the upper end of the cion, just enough to cover the exposed wound and prevent evaporation of the natural moisture or sap in the wood. I have found, in practice, that this sealing the end of the cion is time well spent; in fact, to leave any of the wood cells exposed to the air endangers the success of the operation.

Young shoots from a quarter of an inch in diameter up to five-eighths may be used for cions, in splice grafting; and with a little care in the selection of stocks, or by cutting them off a few inches higher or lower, we may readily manage to have them nearly of the same diameter to match our cions, whether they are large or small, and such unions will soon heal over, leaving no scar at the point where the two have been joined.

If the new growth or shoot to be employed as a cion is slender and feeble, then the base of the cion may be of two-year-old wood, leaving just a bud or two on the upper end of the one-year shoot. But it will seldom be necessary to employ such cions in grafting the chestnut, although it may occur when seeking to secure wood for propagation, from very old trees which have made only a feeble annual growth.

Cleft Grafting. This method is employed principally upon stocks or branches of trees too large for splicing. The stock is first cut off at the point where it is desirable to insert the cion; then split with a knife, being careful to divide it, so that the edges will be kept smooth, and not rough and ragged (Fig. 15). When the knife blade is withdrawn, the cleft may be kept open with a hard wood wedge, if the stock is too large to admit of opening it with the point of the knife CION. when ready to insert the cion.

FIG. 15.
STOCK.

FIG. 16.

The cion may be three two or more buds; the

or four inches long, containing lower end is cut wedge-shape, as shown in Fig. 16, and slightly the thickest on the side to be set against the bark of the stock. In stocks. of an inch or more in diameter, two cions, one on each side, may be inserted (Fig. 17), and if both grow one should be cut away, else the tree, in later years, will be very likely to divide or break apart at this point. In stocks of an inch or less in diameter, one cion is sufficient, the top of

the stock to be cut off with an upward FIG. 17. FIG. 18. slope, as shown in Fig. 18. After the cions are inserted, the entire exposed surface of the wood must be covered with grafting wax or waxed paper, and usually both may

be employed with benefit. All the various forms of grafting in the open air, as described in my work on the "Propagation of Plants," may be employed on the chestnut, but the two here given will probably answer just as well as others for those who may have occasion to propagate this tree.

Success in Grafting.-The question has been asked many times, and will, no doubt, be frequently repeated, "What percentage of cions should one accustomed to grafting make grow ?" As there are no statistics upon which to base an answer to the question, I can only give my own personal experience, and this leads me to say that seventy-five per cent may be considered an excellent, if not a high average. In some seasons this has been exceeded by at least ten per cent, while in others it has fallen as much or more below, with no apparent reason for the difference. Ninety-five per cent of the cions may push their buds, or even make a growth of several inches, then begin to die off; consequently, the time to count your successfully grafted trees is in the autumn, and not in spring or midsummer, as it is to be feared some are in the habit of doing when making a report upon what they call success in grafting nut trees.

Growth of Cions.-Cions set in strong stocks usually make a very rapid and vigorous growth, and if left unchecked, there is danger of loss by being broken or blown off by strong winds during the summer and autumn. To prevent this as much as possible, it has been my practice to pinch off the ends of the young shoots when they are about two feet long. Lateral shoots will then push out freely, and in some seasons it may be necessary to check their growth in the same way later. On feeble stocks, or those quite small, and with the less vigorous growing varieties, no summer pinching or pruning will be required. My experimental grounds are well protected upon the north and west, not only by

rising ground, but by Norway spruce and American arbor vitæ hedges twice as high as the grafted chestnut trees in the nursery rows, and yet almost every season some of the stronger-growing grafts are blown out or broken off by the wind. After the first season there is little danger of injury, probably because the union between cion and stock has become stronger.

Grafting Chestnut Sprouts.-In grafting the vigorous sprouts that always spring up from the stumps of old trees that have been recently cut down, we may reasonably expect a prodigious growth of the cion the first season, as well as in succeeding ones, and if all goes well with them we will secure large bearing trees in a very few years, but such stocks are only available where old trees are sacrificed for their timber or other purposes. Having a few such sprouts on my place, they have been utilized from time to time in testing some of the newer varieties. In one instance I allowed the cion, set on a sprout about one inch in diameter, six feet from the base, to grow unchecked throughout the season, as it was in a protected position, and in the fall the entire length of the main stem and lateral branches was sixtyfive feet, and all from one bud on a cion set early in the spring. The third year this tree bore about a peck of very large nuts, to which I shall have occasion to refer again under "Injurious Insects."

Grafting Large Trees.-Grafting large chestnut trees with stems of six inches or more in diameter, and with large spreading heads, is possible, but far from being economical or practicable, especially if the trees stand out where they will get the full sweep of prevailing winds. By cutting off and grafting a few of the branches at a time for several seasons in succession, one may, in a few years, succeed in getting the entire head grafted, but there is constant danger of some of the cions being broken out if they make a vigorous growth, leav

ing a distorted and ill-shapen tree. Having experi mented somewhat in this line with variable success, I am not inclined to recommend it, because ten trees can be raised to a bearing age on moderate-sized stocks with less labor, and the results will be more satisfactory.

Budding Chestnuts.-I have frequently tried budding chestnut stocks as described for the almond, and extensively employed with other kinds of fruit trees. But the results of my experiments have been unsatisfactory, although buds were set from very early in summer until late in the fall, also on young and old wood; but so few have taken and remained alive over winter that my personal experience in this mode of propagation will not justify its recommendation to others. Perhaps there is some secret connected with the operation that I have not yet discovered, but which is known to other propagators. Of course, budding with semi-dormant wood and buds in spring, as soon as the bark will peel from the wood, is practicable, but there is really nothing to be gained by this mode of propagation over that of grafting.

Transplanting and Pruning.-There is no tree that will bear or withstand more severe pruning than the chestnut. If trees of one or five hundred years of age are cut down, the stumps are sure to throw up an immense number of sprouts from adventitious buds, as these are readily produced at almost any point on the sapwood or alburnum under the bark; and yet, with this inherent vitality and faculty of recuperation, the chestnut tree does not naturally, like many other deciduous kinds, throw up suckers from the roots. Keeping this peculiarity in mind, the cultivator has only to use his pruning knife freely upon the trees to secure almost any form desired. But after the trees have become well established, very little pruning will be required, except to occasionally thin out or remove a rambling branch, to secure a well-balanced and shapely head to the tree.