280 



ROOT GRAFTING. 



ROOT GRATTINO. 



BY F. K. PHCENIX, DELAVAN, WISCONSIN. 



I HAVE never seen in any eastern publica- 

 tion, what I consider by any means a full 

 and accurate description of the best method 

 of root grafting. And as this is now, so far 

 as I know, decidedly the most popular 

 method of propagating fruit trees, and in 

 many respects as decidedly the best, it 

 seems to me that too great pains cannot be 

 taken to ascertain and establish the best 

 mode of performing the operation. Root 

 grafting is very applicable to apples, pears 

 and plums — and I think is much the easiest 

 way to work apples and plums ; pears bud 

 so easily that with any pear stocks, save 

 seedlings, I should prefer budding. Seed- 

 ling pear stocks I have never tried by graft- 

 ing in the root and boxing as with apples, 

 but I see no reason why they might not be 

 used to as good advantage in that way as 

 are apple roots — by grafting in which, as is 

 well known, a great saving in stocks is ef- 

 fected. The following remarks apply par- 

 ticularly to the apple, as I have never tried 

 grafting the plum or pear on their own 

 roots, (though I have the pear several times 

 upon apple roots,) in the winter and boxing 

 them — but I have often root grafted them 

 in the spring, and with the best success. 



The roots for grafting must of course be 

 secured in the fall, and should be fine, 

 thrifty seedlings of at least two years growth, 

 though our yearlings, which sometimes 

 have roots nearly one-half an inch thick, 

 make as fine trees as I ever saw. In pre- 

 paring the roots for packing I always cut ofl^ 

 the tops about six inches from the roots, in 

 order to save room, and for convenience in 

 handling them when grafting. The roots 

 are packed in tight boxes in thick layers 

 with moist earth amongst them, and be- 



tween the layers ; the boxes I keep in my 

 cellar. The boxes for packing away the 

 roots when grafted, I have 24 inches long, 

 12 wide and 5\ high on the inside, which 

 need not be very tight, and will hold from 

 6 to 1200, according to the size of the roots 

 and the closeness with which they are 

 packed. When ready to commence opera- 

 tions, I take a quantity of the roots, as many 

 as are wanted during the day, and after 

 trimming ofT all the side roots quite close to 

 the main root, say within jth or |th of an 

 inch, I proceed to cut them up in pieces from 

 3 to 4 inches in length — never longer, mark- 

 ing the upper ends of the roots if necessary, 

 in order to distinguish them when cut up, 

 and throwing the pieces into a pail of water. 

 If desirable to cut very close, the upper piece 

 need not have more than one inch of clear 

 root upon it. In regard to size — I have 

 often been obliged to use roots not larger 

 than a pipe stem, and where they were 

 thrifty and perfectly sound, and set out 

 under favorable circumstances, they have 

 done well, still I greatly prefer larger. 

 When the roots are cut, they are then 

 washed by stirring and turning them a few 

 minutes in the pail and changing the water 

 once — leaving them, when washed, in the 

 water. I then take my scions, and after 

 marking the name of the variety upon a little 

 stake 8 or 9 inches long, (which I keep with 

 them constantly, and in boxing put between 

 the kinds,) I cut and prepare 2 or 300 grafts 

 ready for setting and pile them up. The 

 grafts I have from 3| to 4^ inches in length, 

 and with a tongue as in splice grafting. 

 The cut or slant at the lower end of the graft, 

 on which the tongue is made, should not 

 with common sized scions, exceed about 



