THE HANDLING OF THE PLANTS - Continued
Grafting is usually performed early in the spring, just before the buds
swell. The cions should have been cut before this time, when they were
perfectly dormant. Cions may be stored in sand in the cellar or in the
ice-house, or they may be buried in the field. The object is to keep
them fresh and dormant until they are wanted.
If it is desired to change the top of an old plum, apple, or pear tree
to some other variety, it is usually accomplished by means of the
cleft-graft. If the tree is very young, budding or whip-grafting may be
employed. On an old top the cions should begin to bear when three to
four years old. All the main limbs should be grafted. It is important to
keep down the suckers or watersprouts from around the grafts, and part
of the remaining top should be cut away each year until the top is
entirely changed over (which will result in two to four years).
A good wax for covering the exposed parts is described in the footnote
on page 145.
Keeping records of the plantation.
If one has a large and valuable collection of fruit or ornamental
plants, it is desirable that he have some permanent record of them. The
most satisfactory method is to label the plants, and then to make a
chart or map on which the various plants are indicated in their proper
positions. The labels are always liable to be lost and to become
illegible, and they are often misplaced by careless workmen or
mischievous boys.
[Illustration: Fig. 177. The common stake label.]
For vegetables, annuals, and other temporary plants, the best labels
are simple stakes, like that shown in Fig. 177. Garden stakes a foot
long, an inch wide, and three-eighths inch thick may be bought of label
manufacturers for three to five dollars a thousand. These take a soft
pencil very readily, and if the labels are taken up in the fall and
stored in a dry place, they will last two or three years.
[Illustration: Fig. 178. A good stake label, with the legend covered.]
For more permanent herbaceous plants, as rhubarb and asparagus, or even
for bushes, a stake that is sawed from clear pine or cypress, eighteen
inches long, three inches wide, and an inch or more thick, affords a
most excellent label. The lower end of the stake is sawed to a point,
and is dipped in coal tar or creosote, or other preservative. The top of
the stake is painted white, and the legend is written with a large and
soft pencil. When the writing becomes illegible or the stake is needed
for other plants, a shaving is taken off the face of the label with a
plane, a fresh coat of paint added, and the label is as good as ever.
These labels are strong enough to withstand shocks from whiffletrees and
tools, and should last ten years.
Whenever a legend is written with a lead pencil, it is advisable to use
the pencil when the paint (which should be white lead) is still fresh or
soft. Figure 178 shows a very good device for preserving the writing on
the face of the label. A block of wood is secured to the label by means
of a screw, covering the legend completely and protecting it from
the weather.
If more ornamental stake labels are desired, various types can be bought
in the market, or one can be made after the fashion of Fig. 179. This is
a zinc plate that can be painted black, on which the name is written
with white paint. Many persons, however, prefer to paint the zinc white,
and write or stamp the label with black ink or black type. Two strong
wire legs are soldered to the label, and these prevent it from turning
around. These labels are, of course, much more expensive than the
ordinary stake labels, and are usually not so satisfactory, although
more attractive.
[Illustration: Fig. 179. Metal stake label.]
[Illustration: Fig. 180. Zinc tallies.]
[Illustration: Fig. 181. Common zinc tally.]
For labeling trees, various kinds of zinc tallies are in common use, as
shown in Figs. 180 and 181. Fresh zinc takes a lead pencil readily, and
the writing often becomes more legible as it becomes older, and it will
usually remain three or four years. These labels are attached either by
wires, as a, b, Fig. 180, or they are wound about the limb as shown in
c, d, and e, in Fig. 180. The type of zinc label most in use is a
simple strip of zinc, as shown in Fig. 181, wrapped about the limb. The
metal is so flexible that it expands readily with the growth of the
branch. While these zinc labels are durable, they are very inconspicuous
because of their neutral color, and it is often difficult to find them
in dense masses of foliage.
The common wooden label of the nurserymen (Fig. 182) is perhaps as
useful as any for general purposes. If the label has had a light coat of
thin white lead, and the legend has been made with a soft lead pencil,
the writing should remain legible four or five years. Fig. 183 shows
another type of label that is more durable, since the wire is stiff and
large, and is secured around the limb by means of pincers. The large
loop allows the limb to expand, and the stiff wire prevents the
misplacing of the label by winds and workmen. The tally itself is what
is known as the "package label" of the nurserymen, being six inches
long, one and one-fourth inches wide, and costing (painted) less than
one and one-half dollars a thousand. The legend is made with a lead
pencil when the paint is fresh, and sometimes the label is dipped in
thin white lead after the writing is made, so that the paint covers the
writing with a very thin protecting coat. A similar label is shown in
Fig. 184., which has a large wire loop, with a coil, to allow the
expansion of the limb. The tallies of this type are often made of glass,
or porcelain with the name indelibly printed in them. Figure 185. shows
a zinc tally, which is secured to the tree by means of a sharp and
pointed wire driven into the wood. Some prefer to have two arms to this
wire, driving one point on either side of the tree. If galvanized wire
is used, these labels will last for many years.
[Illustration: Fig. 182. A common nursery label.]
[Illustration: Fig. 183. Cornell tree label.]
[Illustration: Fig. 184. Serviceable large-loop tree label.]
[Illustration: Fig. 185. Zinc tree label.]
[Illustration: Fig. 186. Injury by a tight label wire.]
It is very important, when adjusting labels to trees, to be sure that
the wire is not twisted tight against the wood. Figure 186 shows the
injury that is likely to result from label wires. When a tree is
constricted or girdled, it is very liable to be broken off by winds. It
should be a rule to attach the label to a limb of minor importance, so
that if the wire should injure the part, the loss will not be serious.
When the label, Fig. 182, is applied, only the tips of the wire should
be twisted together, leaving a large loop for the expansion of the limb.
The storing of fruits and vegetables.
[Illustration: Fig. 187. The old-fashioned "outdoor cellar," still a
very useful and convenient storage place.]
The principles involved in the storing of perishable products, as fruits
and vegetables, differ with the different commodities. All the
root-crops, and most fruits, need to be kept in a cool, moist, and
uniform temperature if they are to be preserved a great length of time.
Squashes, sweet-potatoes, and some other things need to be kept in an
intermediate and what might be called a high temperature; and the
atmosphere should be drier than for most other products. The low
temperature has the effect of arresting decomposition and the work of
fungi and bacteria. The moist atmosphere has the effect of preventing
too great evaporation and the consequent shriveling.
In the storing of any commodity, it is very important that the product
is in proper condition for keeping. Discard all specimens that are
bruised or are likely to decay. Much of the decay of fruits and
vegetables in storage is not the fault of the storage process, but is
really the work of diseases with which the materials are infected before
they are put into storage. For example, if potatoes and cabbages are
affected with the rot, it is practically impossible to keep them any
length of time.
[Illustration: Fig. 188. Lean-to fruit cellar, covered with earth. The
roof should be of cement or stone slabs. Provide a ventilator.]
Apples, winter pears, and all roots, should be kept at a temperature
somewhat near the freezing point. It should not rise above 40° F. for
best results. Apples can be kept even at one or two degrees below the
freezing point if the temperature is uniform. Cellars in which there are
heaters are likely to be too dry and the temperature too high. In such
places it is well to keep fresh vegetables and fruits in tight
receptacles, and pack the roots in sand or moss in order to prevent
shriveling. In these places, apples usually keep better if headed up in
barrels than if kept on racks or shelves. In moist and cool cellars,
however, it is preferable for the home supply to place them on shelves,
not piling them more than five or six inches deep, for then they can be
sorted over as occasion requires. In case of fruits, be sure that the
specimens are not over-ripe when placed in storage. If apples are
allowed to lie in the sun for a few days before being packed, they will
ripen so much that it is very difficult to keep them.
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