Plant bands are apparently preferable to small pots. The slope of the pots tends to pack the soil medium and interfere with aeration. Bands or pots less than three inches in diameter tends to cramp the rapidly growing roots.
Cold room vs. cold frame:
Last year higher percentages of success were obtained in the cold room than in the bottom-heated cold frame. This year the cold frame was definitely superior. Because construction and operation of a suitable cold room is expensive, we do not plan to continue its use in chestnut work.
Fog nozzles:
In the cold frame, fog nozzles operating during eight hours each day are apparently more effective than nozzles operating continuously.
Auxin:
No success has been attained with indole-butyric acid crystals in a talc-based powder or with untreated cuttings.
Formula for preparing auxin:
The auxin solution is prepared as recommended by G. H. Poesch in the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station Bimonthly Bulletin, 191, April, 1938. One gram of indole-butyric acid crystals is dissolved in 125 cc. of 95% alcohol. Then 125 cc. of distilled water is added. This makes a stock solution of four thousand parts to a million in strength. The stock may be cut to the desired strength with distilled water. For late August cuttings, well-hardened, 80 parts per million is not too strong. For early June cuttings, forty parts per million appears to be adequate. The softer the cuttings, the weaker should be the solution.
Algae: