PROPAGATION OF THE FIG. Pas 
CLEFT, 
Smaller stocks require only one graft, but in the larger ones it is 
best to insert two or three grafts. Each graft is inserted in a cleft. 
This cleft, or slot, should be made with a knife or wedge and not with 
a saw, as the latter will make an uneven surface. The direction of 
the cleft should not be exactly parallel with the long axis of the 
stock, but should form with it a small angle, pointing toward the 
center of the branch, and it should not be so long as to cross the cen- 
ter. If pointing straight downward it will cause the stock to split, 
and if it crosses the center it may also cause the stock to split off. At 
any rate, it will not be prop- 
erly kept in place. On the 
other hand, the upper part 
of the cleft, which crosses 
the cut-off surface of the 
stock, must not go through 
to the bark on the opposite 
side of thestock. The cleft 
is made on one side of the 
center, between the pith and 
the bark (see fig. 22), and 
must on no account cross 
the pith. If this isdone the 
tree will be ruined. 
INSERTING THE GRAFT. 
When the scion is prop- 
erly inserted in the stock 
it will show the following 
features: Its lower wedge- 
Shaped part will point 
slightly toward the center 
of the stock and the median 
longitudinal diameter of the 
branch. The upper free 
part makes a small angle 
with the squarely cut-off surface of the stock. Thus the scion and 
stock are not parallel. At the junction of the scion and the stock 
is situated, facing outward, the lower bud or eye of the scion. 
Of the two planed-off surfaces of the scion, the one with the pith 
faces inward toward the pith of the stock. The inner green layer, 
or cambium, of scion and stock must touch at several points. (See 
fig. 23.) 
FIG. 23.—Two fig branches, showing manner of insert- 
ing the scions. 
