MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 355 



«ome of the pears— only a few, however, Louiae, Duchess, Howell and 

 three or four more — make good, rather small trees on the quince, dwarf 

 pear trees, they are called. 



Root Grafting. 



Root grafting is the process by which small apple trees are now 

 transformed from worthless seedlings into choice, well-tested fruit. 

 Root grafting is an economy of both time and material, as the work 

 can be done in the leisure of winter. The roots of seedling trees are 

 taken from the ground before cold weather sets in, and are stored in a 

 cool cellar in sawdust or moss. In the winter these roots are taken a 

 few at a time, to the room where the grafting is done, after which pro- 

 cess they are again returned to the sawdust, where they remain until 

 set in the nursery rows next spring. The grafting process is what is 

 known as "whip" or "tongue" grafting. A portion of the root as large 

 as a lead pencil, or a little smaller, is cut off obliquely in much the 

 same manner as the lower side of a steel pen may be imagined to be 

 beveled off with a jack knife. This cut surface is one or one and a 

 half inches long, evenly cut and straight. A scion two or three inches 

 long is cut in the same manner so that its cut surface will apply on the 

 cut surface of the root, in exactly the same manner as two pens, with 

 the points toward each other, may be applied to each other by their 

 lower beveled faces. 



If the process proceeded no further than this it would be "spliced 

 grafting," and the scion and stock would be tied and waxed together 

 with the simple cut surfaces in contact. To render the union more 

 <}omplete, however, a split an inch deep lengthwise the scion and above 

 the center of the beveled surface is made, and a similar one is made 

 in the stock or root. By this split in the beveled surface we have 

 divided it into two parts, the upper one of which being the smaller is 

 called the "tongue" or "whip." This tongue is inserted into the split in 

 the opposite piece, either stock or scion, the two beveled faces are 

 brought close together, as before, and the union is firm and complete. 

 All the work must be done with a keen-edged knife, so that the sur- 

 faces may be clearly cut. Care must be taken in putting the scion 

 T?nd stock together that the inner bark of the scion exactly matches on 

 one side at least, the inner bark of the stock. The scion and stock 

 are now lashed firmly together by waxed twine, and the grafting is 

 done. It is not necessary to wind the twine closely, as the earth about 

 the cut surfaces will exclude the air and afford protection. Small 



