INARCHING. 15 



propag-atin^. An article in the Suoar ffoiirnal and Tioijicul Cultivator 

 describes the process as follows: 



The best metliod of propajjating good varieties of mangoes is l)y means of inarch- 

 ing, which is a very simple process. It is j)erforme<l usually lietween a large tree of 

 superior variety growing in the ground and a seedling growing in a jxit — small, cheap 

 flowerpots about S or 9 incht's <lee]) and 6 inches diameter do well for the purpose. 

 The soil should be good potting .«oil, with a fair proportion of manure. A single 

 large mango stone should l)e planted in each pot. The seedlings are ready for 

 inarching, if well grown, in ten months or so; if not well grown, they should be 

 older. Two-year-old see<llings are very successfidly inarched. The stem of the 

 seedling shoulil in each be fairly thick, with the wood fairly developed — near the 

 root the stem will be somewhat thicker than an ordinary workingman's smallest 

 finger. Any number of seedlings in pots can be inarched in one tree by erecting a 

 stage [for their .support] under the lower branches. The stem of the branch to be 

 inarched sh<juld be alxuit the saute thickness as the stem of the seedling, an<l like 

 the seedling, should V)e fairly developed wood. The juncture where the inarching 

 is performed should l)e about 6 or 8 inches from the root of the seedling and about a 

 foot or so from the growing point of the branch, unless the branch is making new- 

 vigorous growth, in which case the distance will be more. A straight, well-shape<l 

 branch should be selected, so that the future grafted tree will be well proportioned. 

 A slice of wood and V)ark should be cut from the seedlings and from the branch, so 

 that the inner bark of both can l>e made to touch accurately; the two wounded sur- 

 faces are bound securely with tape or bast filjer, and grafting clay ai)plii'd to keep 

 out air. The juncture of branch and seedling should extend for a length of about 3 

 inches, but at no i)oint should the wound in either be deep; the slices should in fact 

 be of almost uniform thickne.«s throughout and not thick. Tenaceous clay should 

 not be used to cover the inarch; it soon cracks and admits air. One part of fresh 

 cattle dung, nuxed with two parts of good soil, kneaded together with a little water, 

 serves the purpo.se excellently. Inarching can be done in Iixlia at any season, but 

 it is most succe.ssful when the trees are in active growth. It takes some time (sev- 

 eral months) before the inarched juncture is perfectlj' joined by the new wood and 

 bark cells. Meantime the seedlings in the pots must be carefully and regularly 

 watered. When the juncture is complete the leading shoot of the seedling should 

 be removed immediately above the inarch juncture and some days after\var<!s the 

 branch of the tree may be severed immediately below the juncture. 



Trees for inarching should be in a sheltered situation, because if swayed much by 

 the wind the pots or the j)latform are disturbed from their position. 



In j)lanting out young grafts the pots should be broken if the young plant can not 

 be removed without disturbing the earth on the roots. If the earth on the roots is 

 much disturbed the plant will almost certainly die. They should be planted with 

 plenty of manure in pits 3 feet deep and wide. '^^ 



Mr. Lewis A. Berna^^ in "Cidtiiral Industries for Queensland," 

 recommends that the seedlings be inarched when only three weeks old 

 and 6 or 8 inches high. The}^ can then be taken from the pots, the 

 roots wrapped in gra.ss, and the whole tied to the branch which is to be 

 grafted. He recommends that the grafting be done early in the rainy 

 season, and states that the grafts may be severed from the parent 

 within a month or as soon as thirteen days. Inarched mangoes 

 should come into bearing in from three to five ^^ears after planting. 



"The Journal of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, May, 1898, pp. 168, 169. 



