The Nut Culturist / A Treatise on Propogation, Planting, and Cultivation of Nut Bearing Trees and Shrubs Adapted to the Climate of the United States

Insects Injurious to the Beech.—No disease has, as yet, been known to seriously affect the beech, and as for insect enemies, it probably has a less number than any other denizen of our forests. It is true that transplanted trees, and those left exposed by cutting away protecting neighbors, are sometimes attacked by borers in the stem, branches and twigs, but these enemies naturally follow in the train of debility, it being one of the immutable economic laws of nature to hasten the demise and decomposition of the half-starved or otherwise enfeebled members of both the animal and vegetable kingdom.

Isolated beech trees growing by the roadsides in parks and fields are occasionally attacked by a large grayish, long-horn beetle, the Goes pulverulenta. It is about one inch long, and a rather sturdy beetle of a light grayish color, and usually infests the branches, but may occasionally attack the main stem. It is not abundant, and has seldom been found infesting the beech. There are also two or three borers of the Buprestis family of beetles which occasionally attack beech trees. They are distinguished by the broad heads and flattened bodies of the grubs, and they work just beneath the bark in the sapwood, causing dead patches, mainly on the south side of the stem and larger branches. If the dead bark is removed and the wounds painted they will soon heal over, unless the tree is suffering for moisture and nutrients at the roots. A few twig borers, with an occasional colony of caterpillars on the leaves, embody about all the insect enemies of the beech calling for any special attention, but there are a host of different species and kinds ever ready to pounce upon a sickly or dead tree, whether found in the field or forest.

Properties and Uses.—The beechnut has been so long and favorably known that very little need be said here in regard to its properties and uses. In the forests it affords food for many kinds of birds, such as the wild turkey, partridge or grouse, and especially the pigeon, and immense flocks of these collect in the beech forests in autumn to feed upon the nuts. Deer are very fond of these nuts, and so are all of the squirrel family, and the little ground squirrel or chipmunk, Tamias striatus, of our Northern States, gives us a good practical lesson in the way of preserving the nuts over winter. These little rodents pack away the nuts in small pockets in their burrows and from two to three feet below the surface, where they are protected from excessive moisture and any considerable change of temperature. The chipmunk always stores the nuts in the ground, and not in hollow logs, as is sometimes asserted. The deer-mouse (Hesperomys leucopus), however, does select such places for putting away his winter's supply, but more frequently he chooses a hollow in the stem of some old tree, and several feet from the ground. Unlike the chipmunk, this mouse cleans the shells from the kernels, storing only the latter, and I have often found a quart or more when cutting down trees in winter. These kernels are usually so clean, bright, and free from odor, that it is to be feared the finder always confiscates them for his own use.

As the beechnut contains considerable oil, many schemes have been set on foot, in European countries, for its extraction and use as a salad oil. Early in the last century (1721) Aaron Hill, an English poet, proposed to pay off the national debt from the profits to be derived from the manufacture of beechnut oil; but his scheme fell through, like many others of its kind. It is also stated that Henry Fielding, so well known by his delightful stories of English society, once speculated rather largely on the manufacture of beechnut oil. In France, however, beechnut oil was formerly made in considerable quantities, and used in cooking fish and as a salad oil. In Silesia it is used by the country people instead of butter, and the cakes which remain from the pressure are given to fatten swine, oxen and poultry. The forests of Eu and of Crécy, in the department of the Oise, it is stated by Duhamel du Monceau, have yielded, in a single season, more than 2,000,000 bushels of mast, but probably this referred to all kinds of nuts, and not beech-nuts alone. Years later, or in 1779, Michaux states that the forests of Compiègne, near the Verberie department of the Somme, afforded oil enough to supply the wants of the district for more than half a century. In some parts of France beech-nuts are roasted and served as a substitute for coffee. Many of these old forests have disappeared, but other kinds of nut trees are still being planted in France, and the product is simply enormous, and a source of wealth to the peasant, as well as the owners of extensive forests and orchards.

The beechnut has never been an article of commerce in this country, and it is rarely seen on sale in either country villages or our larger cities, not because of its scarcity or want of demand, but all that the country boys and girls find time to gather are wanted for their own pleasure and use. Picking up beech-nuts among the leaves in a forest, or even after raking off the leaves and then whipping the trees, is, at best, slow and rather tedious work, as I know full well from experience, and only once do I remember of having secured a rounded half bushel as the sum total of many raids on the beech trees in the neighborhood. But as the beechnut is the diamond among the larger and less precious gems of our forests, we should set a higher value upon it because small and rather difficult to obtain.

CHAPTER IV.

Castanopsis chrysophylla, A. de Candolle. Castanea chrysophylla, Douglas. Castanea sempervirens, Kellogg.

"Leaves coriaceous, evergreen, lanceolate or oblong, one to four inches long, acuminate or only acutish (Fig. 10), cuneate at base and shortly petioled, entire green and glabrous above or somewhat scurfy, densely scurfy beneath, with none or few yellow scales; male aments one to three inches long, densely pubescent; styles three, stout, glabrous, divergent; fruiting involucre with stout divergent spines (Fig. 11) one-half to one inch long, subverticillately many branched; nut usually solitary, obversely triangular, six lines long."—"Geological Survey of California," Botany, Vol. II, p. 100.

"This handsome broad-leaved evergreen tree is indigenous to the elevated regions, from Monterey, California, northward to the Columbia river in Oregon. It is also common in the Sierra Nevadas at elevations of six thousand feet, but in its southern limits rarely below ten thousand feet elevation."—C. S. Sargent ("Woods of the United States").

In the warmer and drier regions of California it is a mere shrub two to six feet high, and these dwarf forms have, in some instances, been described as varieties. As, for instance, Castanea chrysophylla, var. minor, Bentham; C. chrysophylla, var. minor, A. de Candolle; and C. chrysophylla, var. pumila, Vasey. But northward, where the climate is more moist, it becomes a large tree fifty to one hundred and twenty feet high, with a stem two to three feet in diameter. In its wide variation in habit of growth, this western chinquapin is similar to our Eastern dwarf chestnut, which is mainly a low shrub in the more Southern States, but becomes a fair-sized tree in the Middle States, or near its northern limits.

I have introduced the Western chinquapin here among the nut-bearing trees, not with the idea that it will ever be extensively cultivated for its edible nuts, but because it is a beautiful broad-leaved evergreen tree, and of which we have far too few kinds in cultivation to give warmth and a cheerful aspect to our gardens and pleasure grounds in winter. It is true that, so far as can be learned at this time, no extended experiments have ever been made to introduce or cultivate the Castanopsis in the Atlantic States, consequently nothing positive is known as to whether it will succeed here or not. In its northernmost range it thrives in forests among many kinds of trees and shrubs that are already common in our gardens, and this leads me to think that specimens or seeds of this tree procured from the mountains of northern Oregon will withstand the rigors of our climate.

Mr. S. B. Parsons writes me that he first saw Castanopsis chrysophylla in Kew Gardens (Eng.) thirty-five years ago, and procured specimens, which were planted in his gardens at Flushing, N. Y., but they failed, presumably because not hardy. It may be that his specimens were raised from nuts procured in the warmer part of California, and, as with many other Pacific coast plants, proved to be tender, while later introductions of the same species collected in colder localities have proved hardy here. In my experience I have found a great difference in the hardiness of trees and plants obtained from the higher and lower levels of the mountains from Colorado westward to the Coast range, for in those regions acclimation extending over thousands of years has developed and fixed certain physiological attributes, which enables them to readily adapt themselves to similar conditions elsewhere, especially in the line of temperature. It may make no difference to those who want plants for warm climates, whether they are obtained from mountain or valley, but it certainly does to those who value hardiness above all other merits.

In horticultural matters we are supposed to confine ourselves within certain natural lines in making experiments, but if we fail in one, or one hundred, it proves little beyond the bare fact that we have not been successful. I have experimented enough to have become somewhat wary of deciding that a thing cannot be done, or is impossible, because of my own and others' failures. Every practical horticulturist can call to mind many productions which had evaded the pursuit of experimenters for decades and even centuries.

For specimens of the nuts, burs and plants of this handsome nut-bearing tree I am indebted to Mr. J. J. Harden, of Stayton, Oregon, who informs me that it grows in the mountains near by to a very large size, and among such well-known kinds of shrubs and trees as Rhamnus Purshianus, Cornus Nuttalli, Corylus rostrata, and various species of conifers which are now more or less common in our Eastern gardens and parks. The twigs and leaves are shown in Fig. 10, and below a nut, and in Fig. 11 a bur, all of natural size. The small conical nut is slightly triangular, with a rather firm, brittle shell, not fibrous as in the acorn and chestnut. The burs are produced singly, but sometimes several on a twig, and when mature, instead of opening by valves, as in the true chestnut, they break up irregularly. The kernels are sweet and excellent flavored, and are sought for by various kinds of birds, as well as by all the squirrel tribe, and for this reason it is very difficult to procure specimens, unless gathered before they are fully ripe. The nuts do not mature the first season, but pass the winter in a partly developed stage, usually ripening the second year about midsummer or, in northern Oregon, in July.

It is quite probable that this Castanopsis, when planted in the Atlantic States, will require a little shade or protection, like the American holly and similar broad-leaved evergreens, and while it may not thrive anywhere north of Delaware and Maryland, it is worth trying, as the sole native representative of a genus containing several species of noble evergreen trees.

CHAPTER V.

Castanea, Tournefort. The ancient classical name derived either from Castanis, a town in Thessaly, or one in Pontius, as historians disagree in regard to its derivation. The genus belongs to the order Cupuliferæ.

Male flowers irregularly clustered in long, naked, cylindrical catkins from the axils of the leaves and on the new shoots of the season. Calyx five or six parted; stamens or pollen-bearing organs seven to fifteen; anther two-celled. On old, mature trees, the male catkins are usually crowded near the end of the short new twigs, as shown in Fig. 12, the terminal one productive; but on young thrifty trees, wide apart. Female flowers always on and near the base of a late-developed male catkin, sometimes two or three together,—or even six or eight on the chinquapins,—oval or ovoid, scaly, prickly, two- to four-valved involucre or bur; calyx usually with a four- to six-lobed border crowning the three- to seven-celled ovary; stigmas bristle-shaped, and as many in number as there are cells in the ovary. Shell of the nut leathery, not brittle, ovoid, two or more together in the larger species, in others solitary, or only one in a bur. Kernel very thick, fleshy, and somewhat plaited, sweet and edible.

Both male and female flowers appear late in spring, the males usually exceedingly so, exhaling a slightly nauseating odor. The productive male catkins appear the latest, their base becoming the rachis or stalk supporting the burs, this rather anomalous arrangement appearing to be a natural provision to secure fertilization in case the earlier catkins failed.

The genus Castanea, as now restricted, contains shrubs and large trees, with simple, alternate deciduous leaves, coarsely serrate, with pointed spiny teeth. Indigenous, and widely distributed over northern Africa, southern Europe, Asia and the eastern half of the United States.

The common English name of this nut is supposed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon cystel, chestnut, and cyst-beam or cisten-beam, chestnut tree; Old English, chastein or chesten; Old German, chestinna or kestinna; Modern German, kestene or kastanie; French, castaigne or chataigne; Provencal, castanha; Spanish, castana; Italian, castagna, from the Latin castanea.

History of the Chestnut.—The so-called European chestnut is supposed to be indigenous to Asia Minor, Armenia, Caucasus and northern Africa, and from these countries it was introduced and became naturalized throughout the greater part of temperate Europe, where it has been cultivated from time immemorial. The Romans are supposed to have distributed it northward through France and Great Britain, and in the latter country there were trees centuries ago of such large size that many of the early English authors claimed this tree was indigenous. But in the absence of any natural forests of chestnut, the claim had to be abandoned. In parts of France, Italy and Spain, the chestnut has become thoroughly naturalized and, as we may say, run wild, but as one of the early investigators says, in speaking of the abundance of old chestnut trees on the Apennines, they are generally scattered over the surface like trees on a well-arranged lawn, and not crowded and massed, as they would be in a state of nature or in a forest. On the south side of the Alps the trees grow up to an altitude of twenty-five hundred feet, and on the Pyrenees some two or three hundred feet higher.

There are old trees of immense size almost everywhere in the milder regions of Europe, and the celebrated monarchs of Etna have been many times described by travelers. The largest measure one hundred and eighty feet in circumference near the root. All the early Roman writers who have anything to say about rural affairs, mention the chestnut as one of their valuable trees, producing nuts used for various purposes. Pliny enumerates eight varieties, but Columella appears to place more value upon the timber, especially the sprouts, for stakes, than he does on the nuts. But long before the Romans began to cultivate the chestnut, the Greeks held it in high esteem under the name of Sardianos Balanos or Sardis nut, and still later it was called Dios Balanos Lopimon.

The European chestnut has been so frequently and extensively referred to by ancient and modern authors that it would not be at all difficult to fill a large volume with brief extracts from their works, but my aim is not so much to show what has been done with this nut in other countries as what we may do with it here. All nations who have any experience with it admit its value as food for many wild and domesticated animals, as well as for the human race, and we know, from our long experience with the native species, that it is highly esteemed wherever known, although it must be admitted that our sparse population and the abundance of other kinds of food, have tended to make us careless and neglectful of the indigenous chestnut.

It may be well, before dismissing this brief history of the chestnut, to add that while nearly all the ancient authors, in referring to it, employed its present scientific name of Castanea, still, when botanists first attempted what has since been recognized as the scientific classification of plants, many of them placed the chestnut in the same genus as the beech, retaining the generic name of Fagus for both.

Linnæus, in his Systema Naturæ, 1766, Vol. II, p. 630, describes two species of the chestnut and one of beech in the genus Fagus, although Tournefort, in his "History of Plants Growing About Paris," published seventy years before that of Linnæus, had recognized the distinctive characteristics of these two groups of nut trees, and he adopted the present name of Castanea for the generic name of the chestnut, and Fagus for that of the beech. But nearly all of the English and earlier American botanists adopted and followed Linnæus in his classification, ignoring the works of the earlier as well as contemporaneous continental botanists. I merely refer to this matter of botanical nomenclature because some of my readers may have occasion to consult the earlier authors who describe American plants, as, for instance, such works as John Clayton's "Flora of Virginia," 1739, Thomas Walter's "Flora Caroliniana," 1787, or Humphrey Marshall's "American Grove," 1785. In all of these, and others, the chestnut is described as a species of beech (Fagus).

Propagation of the Chestnut.—The usual mode of propagating the chestnut is from seed, when trees are wanted for general planting or for stocks upon which to graft improved and rare varieties. Under some conditions and circumstances, it is best to plant the nuts soon after they are ripe in autumn, and this appears to be the most natural method; in fact, it is the way in which forests have been produced and are constantly renewed and perpetuated, when man does not interfere to prevent it. But nature is in no hurry in such matters, while man always is, because his time is limited; consequently, in our attempts at the multiplication and cultivation of plants we aim to save both time and material, therefore cannot afford to adopt nature's slow and wasteful processes.

The principal objection to planting chestnuts in the fall is the danger of having them destroyed by vermin, which abound almost everywhere. There is also danger of the nuts sprouting prematurely in the autumn, and of the young growth being killed by cold or by excessive moisture during late fall rains. But these natural enemies and obstacles prevent an excess in number and the overcrowding of trees in our forests. It is, no doubt, possible and practicable to smear the nuts with poisonous substances, or those sufficiently offensive to prevent the depredations of vermin, but taking all things into consideration, I am decidedly in favor of preserving the nuts in bulk and in a dormant state until the season arrives for insuring a rapid and continuous growth, and then planting them. To do this in our cold northern climate, as well as in the South, requires more care and attention with chestnuts than with the harder-shelled kinds, like the walnut and hickory nut. As a rule, it may be said that all the hardy kinds of nuts sprout at a rather low temperature and a few degrees above the freezing point, and for this reason it is well to select as cool a spot in the open ground as possible for their winter quarters, and then examine them as early as can be done conveniently in the spring.

In this matter of manipulating and preserving chestnuts for planting, as well as what follows in regard to transplanting, pruning and grafting, I shall give my own practice, with results; and while it may differ from that of other propagators, it is one evolved from long experience, many successes, and a few failures.

Gathering and Assorting Nuts.—When the nuts begin to ripen and fall, gather as soon as possible, and if the trees are on your own grounds and will admit of such an operation, thrash them and secure the entire crop at once. The object of this early gathering is to collect the false and weevil-infested specimens and destroy them. But in whatever way the nuts are collected, they should be stored in the shade and in shallow boxes, or spread out on a tight floor; but the better way would be on screens over a floor, and then when the grubs worked their way downward through the nuts and screen, they would fall upon the floor, from which they could be taken up and burned or otherwise destroyed. The nuts, while on the screen or other receptacle, should be stirred over daily for two or three weeks, and by that time they will be in good condition for either planting or packing away for the winter. But before finally disposing of the nuts in either way, they should be carefully looked over, and every shrunken specimen, as well as all with punctured shells from which the grubs have escaped, removed from among the sound stock, because these damaged nuts are not only useless, but are very likely to decay and affect all with which they come in contact. It is not to be expected that by such means or handling we can get rid of all the grubs enclosed in the nuts when gathered, for there will always be a few not more than half grown at the time, and these will remain hidden in the nuts until midwinter, or later, but the greater part of the brood will reach maturity within two or three weeks after the nuts are ripe. Of course, what is said here about chestnut weevils is only applicable to chestnuts grown in this country, but all species and varieties, when planted here, are subject to the attacks of this pest—at least, everywhere in the Eastern and Southern States.

Having assorted the nuts carefully, the sound ones should be reserved for planting; these should be mixed with or stratified with moist, sharp sand, and stored in boxes of convenient size for handling and examination, whenever this is required. In preparing the boxes, bore a number of small holes through the bottom, and over each of these lay a piece of a broken flower-pot, brick or stone, then cover the bottom one inch deep with the moist sand, and on this place a single layer of nuts, then fill in all interstices with sand, and also use enough more to fairly cover the layer; and proceed in this way until all the nuts are disposed of or the box is full, covering the top layer one or two inches deep, because the sand will settle some after the work seems complete. The boxes may be covered with fine wire netting or with narrow strips of boards, fitting these so that mice cannot get in, but should not be air-tight. They may then be buried in the open ground, selecting some knoll or dry spot for this purpose, for the nuts should not be placed where they will be submerged, or even be water-soaked, at any time during the fall, winter or early spring. If no such spot is conveniently near, then set the boxes on the top of the ground, and on the north side of some building or in the shade of an evergreen tree, and bank over with soil, covering the boxes a foot deep. If the spot selected is under the eaves of a building, place boards over the heap of soil, to carry off the water, for the object is to keep the nuts moderately moist, cool, and where they will not be subjected to frequent changes of temperature. In our Northern States the nuts, under such conditions, usually become frozen during the coldest weather, but this does not injure them if the sand is moist and they remain frozen, as there will be no danger of germination; while if kept too warm, they may start to grow before the seedbed is ready, in spring, for their reception. I have tried keeping the nuts mixed with sand in a cool cellar, also in outbuildings, but have not found any other place so certain as pits in the open ground.

Seedbed and Soil.—It is well to have the seedbed prepared the previous autumn, but it is not absolutely necessary. The soil for the bed should be light, either sandy or loamy, and if not rich, made so by adding very old and fine stable manure, or leaf mold from the forest—I prefer the latter, as it is the most natural for all kinds of seedling nut trees. Whatever fertilizing materials are used, they should be placed on or near the surface, and never worked in deeply, for our aim should be the production of side or lateral fibers, and not coarse perpendicular roots. Furthermore, seedling nut trees grown on light, sandy soils or in pure leaf mold, produce a far greater number of small fibrous roots than on heavy soils, and this is a decided advantage with those which are to be transplanted.

Planting the Nuts.—When the time arrives for planting, take the nuts from their winter quarters, and after sifting out the sand, sow or drop them in drills, covering about two inches deep with fine soil. With the small native varieties my practice has been to sow in wide drills; that is, those made with the blade of a common garden hoe, and of the same width, the nuts being scattered along the bottom two to three inches apart.

The soil is then drawn in over them and pressed down with the back of the hoe, or by passing a light garden roller over the surface. If the size of the seedbed is not limited, or only a small quantity of nuts are to be sown, then the single row would be preferable, because less hand weeding will be needed to subdue the weeds, and for all the larger varieties I should certainly recommend it, because they are of a more stocky growth. The distance allowed between the drills will depend somewhat upon the implements to be employed in cultivation, as well as how long the seedlings are to remain in the seedbed before transplanting, but from two to three feet will be found convenient for the ordinary modes of cultivation.

If the seedlings make a fair average growth the first season they will be from one to three feet high in the autumn, and as soon as the leaves have fallen they may be taken up, or allowed to remain until the following spring and then lifted. But if, from any cause, they have made a feeble growth, it is better to let them remain in the seedbed another year. Where large quantities of seedlings are raised they are usually taken up with a tree-digger drawn by a span of horses or mules, but with only a few hundred or a thousand to dig, a common spade will answer every purpose; and if, when removed from the seedbed, they are found to have produced long perpendicular taproots, these should be shortened to about one-half their original length. For instance, if these taproots are taken up entire and are eighteen to twenty inches long, cut away the lower half, whether it consists of one or more long perpendicular roots, as this pruning will force the plants to produce a greater number of lateral roots, and it is upon these we depend mainly for keeping our trees alive and vigorous if transplanted when larger and older. All side branches should be pruned off close to the main stem, for we aim to favor the latter in its growth upward until it reaches the required hight for either grafting or forming the future head of the tree.

In taking up seedlings, it is not safe to leave them for any considerable time exposed to the sun and drying winds, and they should be carried either to a shed or other building while being pruned, and also covered with blankets in the field, except during moist, cloudy days. A very little drying of the small fibers on such plants is always more or less injurious.

Planting in Nursery Rows.—After the seedlings have been taken from the seedbed and pruned, they should be set out in nursery rows, four feet apart, and the plants about eighteen inches in the row. Trenches should be opened for the reception of the plants, and wide enough to allow all the roots to be spread out in a natural position; and it is well to set a little deeper than the seedlings were in the seedbed, because newly plowed ground will settle some after the planting is finished, although the soil should always be packed firmly about the stems of newly set trees, whether large or small. The more frequent and thorough the cultivation during the ensuing summer, the more rapid will be the growth of the trees.

If the transplanted seedlings have produced any considerable number of side branches,—and especially, low down,—these may be pruned off at any time during the summer, for our object is usually to secure straight, upright stems for grafting the following spring, if they are large and tall enough; if not, we may delay this operation for another year. Of course, small chestnut stocks may be grafted close to the ground, but there is nothing really gained by this, for a good strong stock will push a cion forward more in one season than a weak stock in two or three seasons. But when the stocks have reached a diameter of from three-eighths to one-half an inch three or four feet from the ground, they may be grafted, but I would prefer to have them a little over than under these sizes.

Stocks From the Forests.—It is not necessary for a man who may need a few chestnut stocks for experimental or other purposes, to wait until they can be grown from the nut, because these can always be purchased at the nurseries; but if one does not wish to incur even this small outlay, it may be avoided by obtaining a supply from the forests, provided there are any in the neighborhood where chestnut seedlings are to be found, and the owner will permit their removal. The best wild stocks are usually to be found in recent clearings, or where the larger trees have been cut off for timber, and the underbrush, composed of seedlings and sprouts, is left to grow up again into a forest. There are many thousands of acres in New Jersey, New York, and other Eastern States, from which the timber is cut every twenty or thirty years, and no further attention paid to the land or what it produces. Wherever such clearings are found containing chestnut trees, good stocks can usually be procured by selecting those varying from one to two inches in diameter at the ground, and if the soil in which they are growing is rather poor and stony they will usually have pretty good roots, if carefully taken up. They should be pruned to a single stem, and this cut off at a hight of from five to six feet or less, then planted where they are to remain permanently. Such stocks, if carefully taken up and planted, will throw out numerous sprouts from their stems during the summer, but all should be rubbed off while small and tender, except three or four at the top, and the following spring, if wanted for this purpose, they may be grafted in the same way as the young stocks growing in the nursery, thereby saving three or four years of time in securing bearing trees. Having often employed such wildings for stocks with just as good results as with those raised from the nuts in nursery rows, I am inclined to recommend them, where obtainable, knowing that there are thousands of farmers and owners of small places in the country who can do likewise, but may have never thought it practicable to transplant nut trees from the forest, although well aware of the fact that elms, maples, and similar kinds were obtained there, and in immense numbers, for planting in the streets of villages and alongside country highways.

The Season for Grafting.—The proper time for grafting the chestnut is in early spring, just as the buds begin to swell, but not until all danger of freezing weather is past, although light frosts will not seriously injure newly set cions. The grafting may be continued while the leaves are unfolding, provided the cions were cut early and stored in a cool place, where they remain in a dormant state until used. I usually cut the shoots wanted for this purpose during the late fall or winter, and then pack them away in a cool cellar between layers of damp moss (sphagnum) to be obtained in almost any swamp. Cions may be taken from the tree on the same day that they are used, but there is some risk in this, because we cannot control the weather, and a week of warm rain in spring may delay us in grafting, while it is pushing our stocks into leaf; and then, our dormant cions are available, while those on the trees are not, owing to their expanded and tender buds.

The shoots used for cions are those of the previous season's growth, or as usually termed, one-year-old wood; and in selecting these, endeavor to get such as are plump, well ripened and firm. If taken from young and very thrifty chestnut trees, there is likely to be a considerable portion of the upper end of the shoot that is rather soft, spongy and immature, and this should be discarded, as it would be a waste of time to use it. Of course, I am supposing that the grafter is so fortunate as to be able to make his own selection of the wood desired; if not, then he may be compelled to do the best he can with that obtained elsewhere.

Grafting Materials.—The really essential materials and implements required in grafting nut trees are few in number. Grafting wax must be provided, and while there are many different compositions used for this purpose, I much prefer, for ordinary work in the open air, a wax made after the old formula, and as follows: Take one pound of common rosin, one-half pound of beeswax, and one-quarter of a pound of beef tallow; melt together and stir enough to insure the thorough intermingling of the ingredients, and then set away to cool, or pour into cold water and work up into cakes or rolls and wrap in paper until wanted for use. Larger quantities may be made if required, preserving the same proportions of the materials used. If to be used immediately in grafting chestnuts and similar trees, then procure some sheets of tough Manilla paper of only moderate thickness, and cut this up into sheets about six inches wide and a foot long. While the fresh-made wax is melted, take an old and rather stiff paint brush, dip it into the hot wax and coat the papers thinly with it, and then spread them out on shelves or elsewhere to cool, and let them remain undisturbed until wanted for use. Any thin kind of cloth may be used instead of paper, but I prefer the latter because it will yield to the pressure of the enlarging stock and cion when growth begins, and it will not be necessary to examine the grafted stock so frequently during the summer to prevent girdling, as is usually the case when a tougher material is employed for wrappers. Before these waxed sheets are taken into the field for use, lay each one separately on a piece of board with the waxed side up, and with the point of a sharp knife cut them crossways into narrow strips of from one-half to three-fourths of an inch wide. But for convenience in handling, insert the point of the knife a half-inch from one edge, but cut the other clean through, so that the whole sheet of strips can be lifted together.

In early spring there is usually more or less windy weather, and if waxed sheets of paper are taken out into the field unprotected they are very likely to become tangled up and useless. To prevent this, procure a number of large but very shallow paper boxes, such as can usually be had at the stores and groceries of almost any village, and in these place a single layer of the cut waxed sheets, where they will be protected from wind and dust until removed for immediate use.

Other kinds of grafting wax can, of course, be used, and are usually procurable at the seed stores or made at home, and I have given their composition and the formulas for their manufacture in my work, "The Propagation of Plants;" but, as I have already said, this old standard kind of wax is just as good as any other, although a little more troublesome to use on account of its sticky consistency. Raffia or bass may be employed as ligatures for holding the cions in place, then covered with Leport's or other kinds of liquid grafting wax; but when these are employed it will be necessary to examine the grafted trees frequently, in order to cut the ligatures to prevent girdling.

The best implement for grafting is a common broad-blade pocket knife. One with a blade three to three and a half inches long and three-fourths of an inch wide, is a handy size. It should be of the best material for grafting chestnuts, because the wood of this tree is coarse-grained, and so filled with siliceous matter that it soon dulls the keenest blade, and the grafter will, of necessity, have to use his whetstone frequently. In grinding the knife-blade have the sides a true level, from the back to the edge, especially the underside when to be held in the right hand with the edge towards the body. The importance of having a blade of this form will soon become apparent when the grafter attempts to make a true sloping cut on either stock or cion, and it would be well for the novice to practice for an hour or two in splicing some worthless twigs before commencing upon more valuable material, for even an expert workman is very likely to make some awkward dissections and joints when out of practice. The professional propagator of plants may think such details are unimportant, but I wish to impress upon the amateur that in grafting nut trees we are dealing with kinds that will not respond satisfactorily to such free manipulations as the apple and pear; consequently, better and more careful handling is required to insure success.

When ready to begin operations in the field, take out a quantity of the shoots to be used for cions, and keep them wrapped in damp cloth or packed in a box, basket or other receptacle with wet moss, to prevent drying. If any considerable number of stocks are to be grafted, then an assistant or two will be required, for the grafter cannot be alternately handling the knife and cions and wax, and do good work, but if he only inserts the cions and his assistant applies the waxed ligatures, the operation will proceed more rapidly and satisfactorily.

Modes of Grafting.—The only two modes of grafting that I shall recommend for the chestnut are the splice or whip graft, and the cleft or wedge graft. In the splice graft, the cion and stock should be of about the same diameter, but if there is any difference let it be in favor of the stock, and this the largest. In this mode of grafting, the stock is cut off with an upward slope, exposing two or three inches of wood; and about midway on this slope a small cleft or incision is made, forming what is called a "tongue." The cion is then cut in the same way from the upper end downward, with a corresponding incision, as seen in Fig. 13. Then the two are 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.