The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1921-11-29
Agriculture
Grating and Budding
(By ]. F. C'Brien)

M SidIlihS 10 illO CItlltlg
used in root grating and is well
adapted to small plants, besides it
can be done in spare time indoors.
The graft is made by cutting the
stock off diagonally, one long smooth
cut, leaving about three fourths inch
of cut surface. The scion is cut in
like manner Now both are split at
about one third of the distance from
the end of the cut and the two parts
are forced together so that the cut
surfaces will fit neatly. Now wrap
with 5 or 6 turns of waxed cotton to
keep firmly together.
Budding -.
This is done during the season of
active growth and in Hawaii ear be
practised almost any time. The bud
is cut off so that the stem of the leaf
is as a handle to aid in pushing the
bud home when inserting it beneath
the bark of the stock on which it is
to grow and becomes a new branch.
This Shield bud is cut so that a
small portion of the wood is removed
with the bud. This piece of wood is
carefully removed before inserting
the bud in the stock. Cleanliness is
essential to success. The stock
should be at least as thick as a lead
pencil. The nearer the ground the
buds are inserted the better. The
cut for the reception of the bud is
made like the letter "T". The stem
to the "T" extends toward the root
an inch or more. The flaps of the
bark made by the junction of the two
cuts are loosened with the heel of the
budding knife and the bud, grasped
by the leaf stem is placed under the
flaps and firmly pushed down in place
until its cut surface is entirely in con-
tact with the peeled body of the
stock. A ligature of cotton or raffia
is tightly wrapped about, above and
below the bud to hold it in place I'M
til a union shall be formed. All other
buds are kept rubbed off. AS Don
as the buds have united with the
stock and have started growth the
ligature should be cut to prevent
girdling of the stock. Later the trees
in which the buds have taken"
should have the tops cut off just
above the bud. 1t is almost impossi-
BILE in a written explanation without
illustrations to max propagation
very clear, but n intelligent person
with a few lessons can be their
own Burbank, making new fruits
and plants or improving On eX-
listing ones. Perhaps you have a tree
in your garden which bears very in
different fruit, but your neighbor has
one of the same species which bears
magnificent fruit. You can get some
scions or buds from your neighbor
and next year you have just the same
fruit that he has. You do not have
to wait several years for a Seeding
to grow. 1t is this method that has
enabled Mr.. Burbank to squeeze the
work of many generations into a few
years. If we have carefully studied
and mastered the preceding lessons
we are now ready to take up the
study of general farm crops.
General Farm Crops
We have already learned that some
of the essential plant foods are sup
piled from the air and some from the
soil. We may now state that in
raising crops the most deficient plant
food element sets the limit of the
crop. There may be enough potash
and PHOSPHORUS in a soil to produce
100 bushels OF corr to the acre, but
if there is only enough nitrogen to
produce 20 bushels then that is all
the field will produce. We are of
course assuming that rainfall is norm
al. We have also learned that if
the crop is fed to livestock and the
manure returned to the land, the
farmer receives the full feed value
of his crop, which is greater than the
market value and returns to the soil
80 percent of the fertility removed
by the plant. If in addition he plants
legumes and plows them under he re-
turns to the soil more than he re-
moves. The farmer of the future
must be both a business nan and a
scientist, because farming is a
science and a very complex one at
that. Within the last ten years more
money had been spent on agriculture
and agricultural colleges than on all
other sciences combined. The trend
is toward intensive rather than ex
tensive agriculture and this will be
come more apparent as populations
: increase, while the area of tillable
land remains stationary.
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