48 PROPAGATIOX OF FRUITS. 



Grafting Clay. — Take equal quantities of pure clay and 

 fine fresh horse manure — if the clay be too strong, add a 

 little sand — apply a ball of the mixture to the stock, completely 

 covering it. It is kept in its place and supported by -winding 

 around it strips of old cloth, tow or other bandage. The com- 

 position will work well with less horse manure, and, by adding 

 fine hair, or, pure clay alone will answer if properly bandaged, 

 in case it is not convenient to prepare grafting composition. 

 It is, however, more troublesome to apply, and no surer than 

 the wax composition. 



GKAFTING OLD ORCHARDS. 



The following treatise, by C. P. Renlods, Rochester, N. Y., 

 written for that popular and valuable periodical, " Th' Rural 

 Annual and Hoi'ticidtural Directory^ Joseph Harris, Roches- 

 ter, on grafting old orchards, is deemed worthy of a place in 

 this work. 



" There are but few old orchards in the country that do not 

 contain some trees which are decidedly unprofitable. Some 

 bear small, sour, natural fruit, only fit for cider or swine; 

 others are grafted to poor varieties, or are shy bearers, or the 

 variety may be good generally, but may not succeed on some 

 soils or localities. Thus for various reasons nearly every 

 orchard contains some trees that bring but little i]rood fruit to 

 the farmer, and he feels that, unless some improvement can 

 be made, they may as Avell be cut down and no longer cumber 

 the ground. 



Now, if a tree is healthy and thrifty, it would be unwise to 

 destroy it, for it has a foundation of roots, and a structure of 

 trunk and branches, that it would require many years for a 

 young tree transplanted from the nursery to attain to. If 

 we can only substitute for that inferior, nearly wcrthless fruit, 

 fine, excellent, productive fruit, it will be far better than to 

 destroy the tree. The science of grafting afibrds the means of 

 changing that fruit within a few years. 



If a bearing tree produces tolerable, fair-looking, saleable 

 fruit, although not of the first class, it would be impolitic to 

 graft it over, for it would require several years before the 



