s larger in diameter than the
scion I make my cleft to one side so that the cambium line of stock and
scion will correspond. It is important to have cambium layers together.
By all means the best feature of all in my grafting work is what I call
the bark slot. This bark slot consists in making two parallel lines in
the stock bark the width of the scion. I turn down that tongue of bark
and stick in the scion. I turn back the bark again and bind all with
raffia. That is the bark slot graft. The bark slot is by all means the
most successful method that I have ever employed. What are the
objections to it? Not so firm a hold on the stock as you will get in a
cleft. What are you going to do about it? Put on good strong braces for
the growing stock. I find it does not do much harm to drive galvanized
nails right into the tree to hold the brace, three or four nails right
into the limb, and then tie the rapidly growing shoot to the brace. If I
do not do that the new shoot blows out very readily when I use the bark
slot. In other words you will catch more by this method and lose more
unless you give the grafts a good deal of attention.

PROF. CLOSE: How do you trim the scion?

DR. MORRIS: I trim it mostly with one good long cut on one side and
sometimes turn it over and make a little nick on the other, but one good
long cut is usually all that it needs.

PROF. CLOSE: Supposing the bark does not peel?

DR. MORRIS: If it does not I think the chances are against its catching
your graft. I have done all my grafting until this year at times when
the bark peeled but this year I carried it up into September after the
bark had set and I am trying to see if I can get a catch then. In that
case I take a chisel and chisel off the bark where it is hide-bound. The
experiment may be a failure but I have had so many failures that they
are sort of a pleasant experience.

MR. FOSTER: In the cutting back I understand that you prefer to do so
when the tree is dormant. Then in the spring when you start your
grafting do you leave that cut just as it is or do you cut it off again?

DR. MORRIS: These are very important questions that are coming out. When
you have sawed off the limb trim the end neatly with a sharp knife. An
employee will almost always leave the cut end ragged but if you do it
yourself and have smooth ends and cover them with paraffin you can graft
right squarely on that end. Turn down your bark for a slot and stick in
the scion a