126 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Bridge Grafting Fruit Trees. 



(A Method of Saving Trees That Have Been Girdled by Mice or Rabbits or 

 Seriously Injured by Blight or Other Diseases.) 



To be effective, bridge grafting should be done in the 

 spring before growth starts, though sometimes it can be done 

 after growth starts if dormant scions for the purpose can be 

 secured. 



Prepare the wound in the tree by cutting away all dead 

 tissue and thoroughly cleansing the injured parts. If possible, 

 sterilize by washing with a solution of bichloride of mercury, 

 copper sulphate, or some other antiseptic. The irregular edges 

 of the bark above the girdled tract or wound should be cut back 

 into an even edge, far enough from the wound to make certain 

 that healthy cambium is under the bark. 



For the grafting, select scions from wood of the previous 

 season's growth, either branches which grew the preceding sea- 

 son or water sprouts that are only a year old. The scion should 

 be a little longer than the space which is to be bridged, so they 

 will arch slightly over the central part of the wound. 



Bevel the scions at each end on the same side of the scion 

 with a long sloping cut so that the wedge-shaped ends thus 

 formed will be relatively thin and permit their being thrust 

 well under the bark without danger of separating it unduly 

 from the cambium«at the points of insertion. The placing of the 

 scions will be facilitated if the bark at the margins of the wound 

 is slit for a short distance at the points where the ends are to 

 be inserted. 



Importance of Uniting Cambium. — In placing the scions 

 it is of the greatest importance that the cambium of the scions 

 which is exposed in the sloping cuts at the ends be brought into 

 intimate contact with the cambium that lies under the bark at 

 the margins of the wounded area. The union of scion and 

 tree can occur only where the cambium layers of the two come 

 together. The scions may be secured in their proper positions, 

 if need be, by driving a small nail through each end into the 

 trunk. This will aid in drawing the cambium of scion and 

 trunk closely together. 



The operation is completed by thoroughly covering the area 

 occupied by the ends of the scions and the margins of the 

 wound with grafting wax, strips of waxed cloth, or by some 

 other means that adequately will prevent these parts from 



