The Propagation of Plums 241 



Craig, illustrates this method of grafting as usually 

 conducted in the grafting room in winter ; (a J shows 

 the scion cut wedge shape, (b) the stock with an oblique 

 cleft for the reception of the scion, (c) the scion in 

 position, firmly bound with waxed thread, and (d) 

 illustrates the joint completed by a covering of graft- 

 ing wax to exclude the air. The same method may be 

 employed in the nursery row on stocks set the previous 

 season. A strong growth is secured the first season, 

 surpassing in the north that obtained from a one- 

 year bud. 



Top-working. — Plum trees may be top-worked ex- 

 actly as apple trees are. The new scions may be set 

 in the old tops either as buds, in late summer, or as 

 grafts in early spring. Grafting must always be done 

 before the leaves start. The insertion may be by the 

 cleft method, or by any other scheme which the oper- 

 ator may fancy. The usual w r ay is to set the grafts 

 in a cleft, just as they are commonly set in apple-tree 

 tops. Top-w r orking offers a convenient method of 

 filling up tops broken dowm by wind or by overbear- 

 ing. It may be used to change wild or unprofitable 

 trees over to better varieties; or it may be employed 

 to improve imperfect pollination. It is especially con- 

 venient for testing new varieties, and this is the use 

 to which it is mostly put among the plum enthusiasts. 

 Almost every one of the real plum cranks has a little 

 test orchard in which the old tops of some discarded 

 trees are cut and patched all over with the scions sent 

 by fellow-victims of the craze. Such a garden is usu- 

 ally a frightful looking place. It suggests a horticul- 

 tural hospital for the severely wounded. But this is 

 where the plum crank revels! Here he cultivates his 

 imagination, and here he breathes in the inspiration 

 of the collector and the connoisseur. 

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