NOTES AND COMMENT^. 



^15 



Grafting. — There are very many apple and 

 pear orchards throughout Ontario which are 

 unprofitable on account of the varieties 

 planted. Many kinds also, once profitable, 

 are so no longer on account of the apple 

 scab, as, for instance, the Fameuse, the 

 Early Harvest, and the Fall Pippin. 



Now any man, who has a little skill in the 

 use of tools, can easily transform such trees 

 to kinds that are valuable by grafting ; an 

 art by many looked upon as difficult, and in- 

 vested with many secrets. 



The first thing to do is to secure scions of 

 the kinds wanted; for these must be cut 

 while the buds are yet dormant, and be laid 

 away packed in earth, or in fresh sawdust, 

 until needed. If near a good city market it 

 will pay to grow a few such fancy apples as 

 Red Astrachan, Duchess and Wealthy, and 

 scions may be secured at a very small cost 

 from almost any of the nurserymen who ad- 

 vertise in our columns. 



Apples and pears may be grafted much 

 later in the season than stone fruits, for 

 while the latter may be done as early as 

 possible in the Spring, the former need not 

 be done until the last of May, or even the 

 early part of June. 



Cleft Grafting is the usual method, and for 

 the smaller limbs it is the best. For this 

 the tools required are a sharp saw for cutting 

 off the limbs where the graft is to be insert- 

 ed, a sharp knife to sharpen the scion, a 



Fig. 2302. 



Fig. 2303. 



. ^ ' ''' Fig. 23ai. 



grafting chisel, such as is shown in Fig. 

 2301, to open the cleft where it is to be in- 

 serted, a mallet to drive the chisel, and a 

 small kettle, with a lamp so fixed in it as to 

 warm the water in which the wax is placed 

 till" needed. 



Our illustrations will represent the process 

 of grafting. The scion. Fig. 2302, is bevelled 

 equally on both sides, with the outer edge it 

 anything a trifle thicker than the outer to 

 ensure firm contact between the cambium 

 layer of the scion and the stock. It is an 

 advantage to have a bud on this edge as 

 shown; if the stock is small one scion may 

 do, as in the engraving ; but if large it is 

 better to have one on each side, and thus if 

 one fails the other may succeed. 



The stock should be smoothly cut across 

 with the saw, and then split with the grafting 

 chisel, the narrow projection on the back of 

 which is used to open the cleft for the in- 

 sertion of the graft All the cuts are then 

 covered with grafting wax and the work is 

 complete. ' 



Grafting Wax may be made in a variety of 

 ways, but in all the ingreidients ar6 resin, 



