The sour stock is believed to be more hardy against trying conditions of soil moisture — both excess and deficiency, and diseases incident thereto.  The sweet stock is a free growing and satisfactory stock and most of the older orchards are upon this root, but it is held to be less resistant of soil troubles than the sour stock, and therefore propagators are now largely using the latter.  The trifoliata has been promoted as more likely to induce dormancy of the top growth during cold weather, because of its own deciduous habit.  It has also been advocated as likely to induce earlier maturity in the fruit and thus minister to early marketing.  The objection urged against it has been a claimed dwarfing of the tree worked upon it.

Citrus Budding.

I wish to bud some Maltese blood orange trees to pomelos and lemons.  Will they make good stock for them, and, if so, is it necessary to cut below the original bud?

It is possible to bud as you propose, and it is not necessary to go back to the old stock.  Work in above the forks.

No Citrus Fruits on Lemon Roots.

Would it be any advantage to bud the Washington Navel on grapefruit and lemon roots?

The grapefruit or pomelo is a good root for the orange, and some propagators prefer it.  The lemon root is not used at present, because of its effect in causing a coarse growth of tree and fruit and because it is more subject to disease than the orange root.  In fact, we grow nearly all lemons on orange roots.

Budding Oranges.

My first attempt at budding, I cut 20 buds and immediately inserted in stock of Mexican sour orange “Amataca.”  I left bands on them for ten days at which time about half seemed to have “stuck,” but after a few days the bark curled away and the buds dried up and died.  I then tried again, but left the bands on for thirteen days and lightly tied strings around below the bud to prevent the bark from curling, and also put grafting wax in the cut and over the bud.  These appeared fresh and green at time of taking off the bands, but three weeks later I found them rotted.  The grafting wax used was made of beeswax, resin, olive oil and a small amount of lard to soften it.  Do you think that the action of the lard on the buds would cause them to rot?

Consider first whether the buds which you use are sufficiently developed; that is, a sufficient amount of hardness and maturity attained by the twig from which you took these buds.  Second, use a waxed band, drawing it quite tightly around the bark, above and below the bud, covering the bud itself without too much pressure for several days, then loosening the band somewhat, but carefully replacing over all but the bud point.  It is necessary to exclude the air sufficiently, but not wholly.  The use of a soft fat like olive oil or lard is not desirable.  If you use oil at all for the purpose of softening, linseed oil, as used by painters, is safer because of its disposition to dry without so much penetration.  Having used olive oil and lard together you had too much soft fatty material.