PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 193 



which retains the scion in its proper place. The 

 best season for grafting the vine is just when the 

 warmth of spring sets the sap in motion, and it should 

 be performed when the sky is cloudy, with the wind 

 blowing from the southeast or southwest. "Whenever 

 a northerly wind or great drought prevails, it is 

 better to delay the operation ; a burning sun or cold 

 wind would arrest the course of the sap by drying up 

 the vessels at the point of union. Neither is it 

 advisable to graft in rainy weather, because the 

 water will trickle down into the incision, and pre- 

 vent the union between the scion and stock. The 

 best time for taking off the grafts is in a dry day 

 toward the end of autumn, when the sap is still. 

 They should be cut off with a portion of the old wood 

 adhering, which will assist in preserving them until 

 wanted for use. They should be plunged two or 

 three inches deep in damp sand, and kept in a cool 1 , 

 cellar, where neither heat nor frost can penetrate.. 

 Twenty-four hours previously to being used, they- 

 should be taken up, and that part which had before: 

 been in the sand should be laid in water." 



He, moreover, states that " the vine is thus grafted 

 with so much facility, and the union between scion, 

 and stock is so perfect, that no plant appears more- 

 adapted for this mode of propagation." 



We have never met with an example of budding, 

 9 



