SOME PERSIAN WALNUT OBSERVATIONS, EXPERIMENTS AND RESULTS FOR 1912
E. R. Lake, Washington, D. C.
The Arlington work for 1912 in the propagation of the Persian walnut consisted in top-grafting three and four year old nursery stock by several methods, as ordinary cleft, side cleft, bark cleft, prong, whip and modified forms of these. For wrapping we tried bicycle tape, waxed cord and cloth, with wax and plasticine for covering.
The work was done during the latter part of April and first part of May. The stocks averaged from ¾ to 1¼ inches diameter, and were cut off from 16 to 30 inches above the surface of the ground. In a few cases bark grafting by modified whip form was performed upon the branches at a height of about 4 feet.
Later in the season from June 12th to August 25th buds were placed by varying methods. In the earlier instances the buds were taken from left-over grafting stock. Of the scion wood received last year all the wood from Eastern growers was frost bitten and wholly failed to take with one or two exceptions.
The Pacific Coast wood was received in excellent condition and operations with it were gratifying, especially with the ordinary cleft graft, and patch bud.
Next year's work in grafting will be confined to the cleft, and the bark-whip processes. This latter is very simple and under careful treatment promises to be a convenient and successful process.
In the budding operations we resorted to a number of methods largely for the benefit of the information obtained from the practice, and not so much for the returns in propagated trees.
However, for 1913 in the work of propagating for stock results we shall confine our practice to the patch method, though we may find from later tests that the hinge method so favorably looked upon by Oregon is better suited to the work.