AN ENCYCLOPADIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 89 
Grafting—continued. 
Whip, Splice, or Tongue-grafting. This is the best 
method, and the one generally and most extensively prac- 
tised in this country. It is represented in Fig. 136, where 
A shows the stock, B the scion, and c the two fitted 
together and tied. Whip-grafting is easily performed, 
and is tolerably certain in its effects, provided the essen- 
tial conditions be insured, and the work carefully exe- 
cuted. The stock should not be removed until the graft 
is ready to be inserted, in order that the parts may be 
quite fresh. It should be cut in a sloping direction, 
just above a bud if possible, as this sometimes prevents 
the old wood from dying back. The scion (B) should 
then be similarly cut through obliquely from d to e, 
allowing the latter point to be quite thin. Next, a thin 
tongue, f, must be cut in an upward direction, and the 
scion will then be ready for insertion. The stock should 
` now be cut in a corresponding manner, so that the 
tongue fits in its place, and the inner barks come 
into direct contact with each other when pressed 
together. Where there is a difference in the sizes 
of the two parts used, the scion must be placed a 
little on one side, to insure a union being effected at 
some part of its surface. The notch should be kept 
open by the point of a knife until the tongue is pro- 
perly inserted. When the exposed parts have been 
fitted as accurately as possible, they should be bound 
with a ligature of woollen thread, or material of a like 
description, to hold everything firmly in position, and 
at once covered with clay or grafting wax, for excluding 
air and preventing the sun and wind from drying up the 
sap. 
Cleft-grafting. In this mode, which is a very objec- 
tionable one in many respects, the stock has to be 
split open by a chisel or other instrument, and the scion 
cut wedge-shaped, and fitted in the cleft, so that the 
inner barks may meet each other. The plan is largely 
adopted in some parts of the country for woody de- 
ciduous trees and plants with old stocks, which are 
split across, sometimes transversely each way, and two | 
Fig. 137. CLEFT-GRAFTING, 
or more grafts inserted, according to the size (see Fig. 
137). The objection is, that the wide cleft necessarily 
made in the solid wood can never unite again in the 
centre, although, after some time, it may be partially 
covered by the scions growing over. Another form of 
Cleft-grafting is shown in Fig. 138, where stock and 
Scion are of the same size. This also has some ob- 
jections, the stock having to be split and fitted with 
a wedge a, formed on the end of the scion. The cleft 
invariably extends beyond where it is intended the graft 
Vol. IL 
Grafting—continued. y zp 
should reach, and, if this happens, the latter, when 
fitted, prevents that portion of the stock from again 
becoming united. The stock and scion should be pre- 
pared so that all the parts coincide. 
FiG. 138. CLEFT-GRAFTING, 
Saddle-grafting. In Saddle-grafting, the stock and scion 
must, of necessity, be of nearly equal thickness, as the 
former is cut sloping on each side, like a wedge, and the 
latter is split up the centre and thinned, to allow of it 
fitting accurately on the top, as shown in the illustra- 
Figs. 139 AND 140, SADDLE-GRAFTING, 
tions (see Figs. 139 and 140). It is important that the 
scion should not be split further than the end of the stock 
will reach, and the wood in both should be clean cut 
with a thin, narrow-bladed knife. For Saddle-grafting, 
the wood is usually young and vigorous; care must 
therefore be taken that the ligature is not made too tight 
at first, and that it is loosened afterwards before injury 
is cansed to the bark. This method has been success- 
fully practised for obtaining dwarf flowering plants of 
Rhododendrons by Grafting terminal shoots just before 
the flowering season arrives, and placing them in a close 
frame, without bandaging or anything beyond a tie. In 
Wedge-grafting, the positions of parts are reversed, the 
scion being made wedge-shaped, and fitted into an in- 
cision of similar shape and size cut in the stock (see 
Fig. 141). a as 
Crown or Rind-grafting has advantages over Cleft-graft- 
` ing, it being practicable to work stocks of considerable 
age and size without cleaving, and rendering the wood 
unsound. It is practised in spring, when the bark easily 
separates; and with this method it has been recommended 
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