660 



Journal of Agiirult lire , Victoria. [10 Sept., 1917. 



m 



of the knife, so as to leave an absolutely plane and even surface. The 

 skill of the grafter mainly consists in making these two cuts efficiently. 

 They should be made in such a way tliat the wedge is slightly wider on 

 the bud side Hian on the opposite side. Cai-e must also be taken not to 

 allow the knife blade to engage too deeply at first. In other words, a 

 circular shoulder on either side should be avoided. One of these cuts 

 can, with advantage, be rather deeper than the other, so that tlie apex 

 of the wedge consists of solid wood ; in other words, the scion must be 

 triirmed so that t'he pith is only seen on one side of the wedge, on which 

 side is immaterial. It will depend upon the obliqueness of the cleft 

 made in the stock (see Fig. 2, u and h). The practical grafter 

 will find that no two scions 

 will require trimming exactly 

 alike, but slight variations will 

 be needed in each case to in- 

 sure an absolutely neat fit. 

 The length of the wedge also 

 varies according to circum- 

 stances. In the case of stout 

 stocks, it must be long and 

 thin to avoid splitting too 

 deeply. With thinner stocks, 

 the tissues of which are more 

 flexible, it may be shorter. 

 Slowly-knitting stocks, as 

 Rupestris du Lot is considered 

 to be in France, need a longer 

 wedge than those which unite 

 more rapidly, such as 420A. 



Thus prepared, we have 

 what may be tern.ed tlie 

 normal scion used in cleft 

 grafting, but several depar- 

 tures are often made from it. 

 Sometimes t-he scion is 

 shouldered, as shown in Fig. 

 2 c. This can most con- 

 veniently be done with a 

 special grafting machine, 

 though it can also be executed 

 with a knife, one with a nar- 

 row blade being most suitable. 



The advantages of the shouldered cleft are that a fairly thick scion may 

 be used without requiring a widely-split cleft, and that the cambium sec- 

 tions of stock and scion can be made to fit very neatly. Sometimes the 

 scion is shouldered on one side only, as shown in Fig. 2 d. 



In the great majority of cases the normal wedge is to be preferred, 

 though with fairly stout stocks and large scions, when the tendency is 

 for the stock to split too deeply, the shouldered scion may prove more 

 convenient. Intermediate between the two we have the scion shouldered 

 on one side only, which may prove useful in certain cases. 



Wi'h any of the above modes the wedge should be so situated that the 

 bud is immediately above its upper or thick end, and as near to it as 

 convenient. 



^/ and '), the ordinary method of 

 trimming the scion for the Cleft Graft; 

 the wedge is slightly thicker on the side 

 where the hud is situated (front), the 

 pith is only showing on one side of the 

 wedge. I a shouldered scion; (/ a scion 

 shouldered on one side. 



