On Apple Trees and Grafting. 95 
In cutting grafts off a tree, I prefer taking one only 
of each limb, that is that I may have the bilge or joint 
between the two years growths, to shave and set in the 
stock ;—that bilge is curly and porous, more readily 
catches the sap from the stock, and I find by experience 
will grow more the first season than any other graft taken 
from that limb; if there is no such bilge or joint on 
my graft, I shave it with a bud outward, that there 
may be a crook in the sap of the graft, more certainly to 
catch the sap of the stock: by observing these simple 
natural rules, I have set in one season upwards of 400 
grafts, and not had more than two to fail ;—and have 
also readily instructed many people ignorant of the 
business. 
In grafting peaches, cherries or plumbs, in all which 
the outside bark of the stock runs round, there is another 
caution necessary in the splitting the stock, or the bark 
will tear rough and the graft die; that is, to enter the 
knife in the top of the stock, so far as to just strain the 
bark but not to tear it, I then take the sharp point of 
another knife, and split the bark down on each side the 
stock, just where I expect the stock to split, then pro- 
ceed exactly as for the apple, and I find them to grow 
equally certain and well:—my apple grafts set in the 
limbs of trees generally bear the third year; I have 
several times for experiment taken grafts at same 
time, off bearing trees, and off grafts that had been set 
the year before of the same kind of fruit, and grafted 
them the same day in different limbs of the same tree, 
and cannot discover any difference in their time of bear- 
ing ;—yet some kinds of fryit do not bear as early as 
others. 
