Mr. Rush: I am very glad to show you some of my methods. The only difference between mine and Mr. Hutt's is that he is right-handed and I am left-handed.
The propagation of the Persian walnut may be divided into three divisions, the preparative, the operative and the nursery, and one is as important as the other. Good wood, good weather conditions, good technique and after this you must nurse them.
(Mr. Rush gives demonstration of budding.)
The Chairman: This is the method I outlined yesterday, but I think Mr. Rush has it better in his hands than I have in my head.
Mr. Rush: It is practically the same. I have a good knife with two parallel blades that can be taken off, and put on the grindstone, and got as sharp as a razor. For some things I use a surgeon's knife.
The Chairman: We have with us another very expert propagator from a little farther south. I am going to ask Mr. Wiggins to give us the benefit of his observations along this line.
Mr. Wiggins: I have not had experience in propagating walnuts, except in an experimental way. I have had some experience in the propagation of pecans. Much depends on the condition of the stocks. If they are in a good healthy, vigorous, growing condition, you will do better.
(Gives demonstration on grafting.)
The best time in South Carolina is in August and early September. I use but one method of budding and grafting. It is the only one I am successful with. What you call chip budding, I call bud grafting. I get 95 per cent of chip buds to take in the spring. I get the wood when it is dormant. I can find dormant wood even in May and June. I usually get it earlier than this, but this year it was in May. Part of these trees were in the shade in the orchard and I got the wood from them. Ninety-nine out of one hundred were dormant, and about that many lived. The wood was thoroughly dormant and plump. I cut it right out of the orchard in May or June and got them to live. Of course if you cut scions from the ends of branches, you haven't a chance at all.
One thing to remember in the chip graft is not to cut your chip too thin. If you do you will lose a good many. I go right into it. If you do it right it will hurt your finger so you can only work for two or three hours at a time. It won't dry out so quickly if you cut it thick and will stand a better chance to live. I try to get the scion to fit the first time.