i 
GRAFTING. 67 
off a small portion of the bark of the stock with very little wood 
attached, from the side of the stem, or one of the branches, leaving 
a leaf and a bud above it; and then cutting the scion into a chisel 
shape, so as to fit the wound in the stock exactly, and binding the 
two closely together with a strip of bast matting, but without using 
any other covering. As soon as the operation is finished, the pot 
containing the stock is laid horizontally on a bed of dry: and cold 
tan, or on a bed of dry moss, the branches lying on the surface, and 
the pot being half buried in the tan or moss; the grafted part being 
covered with a bell-glass, stuffed round the bottom with the moss or 
tan so as to prevent a particle of air from entering. This close 
covering is kept on for a fortnight, three weeks, or a month, accord- 
ing to the season; at the end of which time, the graft will be found 
perfectly united to the stock. Air is then admitted to the graft by 
degrees, by first loosening, and then removing the moss from the 
glass; the glass itself is afterwards taken off, and the pots set erect. 
The great points to be attended to in this mode of grafting, are 
giving the plants bottom heat, and covering them closely, whence the 
name of greffe étowffée, as the plants appear almost stifled for want of 
air. According to both modes, as soon as the graft has taken, the 
leaf and bud of the stock above the insertion of the scion, which 
were left on to draw up the sap, are cut off, and the plant is then in 
a fit state to be removed to the green-house, or any other place where 
it is to flower. : 
Grafting-clay and grafling-waz have been so frequently mentioned 
in the various operations of grafting and budding, that it seems ne- 
cessary to say a few words on their composition. Common grafting- 
clay is made with any kind of stiff clay mixed with a fourth part of 
fresh horse-dung free from litter, and a portion of cut hay; a little 
water is sprinkled on the mass, and the whole is beaten together 
several times a-day for about a week, till the ingredients are tho- 
roughly amalgamated. The common French grafting-clay, or On- 
guent de Ste Fiacre, is composed of equal parts of stiff clay and 
cow-dung ; but a superior kind, recommended by M. De Candolle, 
is composed of one pound of cow-dung, half a pound of pitch, and 
half a pound of yellow wax. Grafting-wax is generally made of 
equal parts of turpentine, beeswax, and resin, with a little tallow, 
melted together, and thoroughly incorporated. This is thinly spread 
on pieces of coarse cotton, and used in strips like cerecloth. In graft- 
