type from seed. A third reason is the length of time required for
seedling hickories to come into bearing.

Concerning the first reason, the enormous taproot of young hickories
requires so much pabulum for maintenance that when the trees are
transplanted, with destruction of root-hairs along with the feeding
roots, transplanted stocks may remain a year or two years in the ground
before they are ready to send out buds from the top. On this account,
the Stringfellow method has in my locality proven of value. This
consists in extreme cutting back of root and top, leaving little more
than a short club for transplantation. The short club does not require
much pabulum for maintenance, and new feeding roots with their
root-hairs get the club under way quickly, because there is little
useless load for them to carry. The Stringfellow method further includes
the idea that stock should be planted in very hard ground, and seems to
be practicable with the hickories. The root-hairs which take up
nourishment from the soil find it difficult to carry on osmosis in loose
soil. The close contact obtained by forcing a way through compact soil
facilitates feeding. On this account, autumn is perhaps a better time
for transplantation of hickories, in the northern latitudes, at least.
Callus forms over the ends of cut roots at all times when the ground is
not frozen, and the more complete the callus formation the more readily
are feeding roots sent out.

One of the main obstacles to propagation of hickories has depended upon
the fact that nuts did not come true to parent type from seed. This is
overcome by budding or grafting, and we can now multiply the progeny
from any one desirable plant indefinitely. In the South grafting is
nearly as successful as budding, but in the North budding seems to be
the better method for propagation. The chief difficulty in grafting or
budding the hickories is due to slow formation of callus and of
granulation processes which carry on repair of wounds.

The propagation of trees from a desirable individual plant can be
accomplished also by transplanting roots. A hickory root dug from the
ground, divested of small rootlets, cut into segments a foot or more in
length, and set perpendicularly in sand with half an inch protruding,
will throw out shoots from adventitious buds. In my experimental work
with hickory roots, in covered jars, surrounded by wet moss, but with
the entire root reached by light, adventitiou