50 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 Jan., 1917. 



permissible, the scion should be too small rather than too large; callus 

 then forms outside and not inside the graft, holding the bud in, instead 

 of forcing it out. An exact fit, however, is the ideal which should be 

 aimed at. Another reason for avoiding too large a bud is that there is 

 a tendency for the scion to be slightly flattened out by the pressure of 

 the string used in tying ; this may caiise one, or even both sides of a 

 large bud to overlap, with the undesirable result just described. 



In a trellised vineyai'd, the bud should be placed in the direction 

 of the wire, and not perpendicularly to it, which would result in the 

 young vine growing out of the liue the following spring. The bud 

 should also be placed, as far as is possible, on the lee side of the stock 

 as regards winds likely to cause damage in spring. 



The graft liaving been properly fitted, it must be tied, so that stock 

 and scion will be held firmly in position until knitted. Tying is indis- 

 pensable in the case of the Ruthergleu form of graft, with its rather 

 long and thin scion-bud. Tying may be don© in various ways — that 

 shown at " D " (Fig. 6), is perhaps the most convenient. Bagging twine, 

 preferably split up, so that two or three strands are used, instead of the 

 whole twine, is a convenient tie. It is better than raffia, which, being 

 flat, interferes rather more with callus formation. A common mistake 

 with beginner is to plaster the graft with raffia, string, or other sub- 

 stances. The tie is really only needed to keep cut surfaces in contact 

 until knitted — otherwise it hinders rather than promotes the formation 

 of callus. "Protection by waxing, &c., is no doubt necessai-y in the case 

 of an apple, which is grafted above ground ; not so with the vine, which 

 is usiually grafted undeiground. The mound of loose earth (Pig. 3) pro- 

 vides ample protection against drying out of the scion. 



Opinions differ somewhat as to the best length to give the scion-bud 

 — that shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is the most usual. Some experienced 

 grafters favour a lesser length, their advice being to make the graft as 

 short as is conveniently practicable. 



Mr. Rounce's Modification. 



This method, which has been so successful in the Mildura district, 

 will be readily understood on reference to Fig. 7. The scion-bud is re- 

 moved in practically the same manner as is shown in Fig. 1, two 

 cuts sufficing — the first is exactly similar to the corresponding 

 one in the Rutherglen graft. When making the second cut, an oscil- 

 latory movement should be given to the knife so as to cut without split- 

 ting when passing through the twisted fibres underlying the bud. If 

 ekiltuUy removed, the section will be a plane surface, and the scion-bud 

 ready for immediate insertion in the cavity prepared to receive it, with- 

 out any paring or trimming. 



In preparing the stock, three cuts are all that are needed. The 

 cavity is somewhat similar to that made in the last graft, but deeper. 

 The graft is, in fact, very similar to the Spanish Yema, as shown in Fig. 

 1., but deeper and shorter. If neatly executed, and with scions 

 thoroughly suited to the size of the stock, the buds are so firmly held 

 that no tie is necessary. The operation of grafting is thus considerably 

 simplified, both by the suppression of several cuts, and by enabling tying 

 to be dispensed with, so that a greater number of vines can be grafted 

 in a given time than by the graft previously described. As regards the 



