46 FLORIDA FRUITS ORANGES. 



containing an embryo bud. The stock does not change 

 the species of the scion, but it does very much affect the 

 quality of the fruit. A weakly stock will make small and 

 insipid, a vigorous one large and fine-flavored fruit. 



The great art in grafting, and it requires no small de- 

 gree of skill and care and patience, is to unite exactly the 

 inner bark of the scion with the inner bark of the stock, 

 and thus to keep them in close contact until the union is 

 complete; it is a more troublesome and more uncertain 

 operation than that of budding, besides being more injuri- 

 ous to the stock in case of failure, but it has the one ad- 

 vantage of giving a quicker and larger start to the new 

 tree in the event of success, for, while the budded tree has 

 but one tiny bud to start from, the grafted tree may have 

 one or a dozen whole branches, sometimes even the entire 

 top of a tree. 



There are several methods of grafting, and to the de- 

 tails of these we will now proceed : 



The most simple, and therefore most commonly success- 

 ful, is that called " grafting by approach" or " inarching." 

 For large plants it is impracticable, but for smaller plants, 

 one of which at least is in a box or pot, it is invaluable. 

 The two plants, stock and scion, being brought close to- 

 gether, wounds are made upon each part to be grafted ex- 

 actly corresponding to each other ; in other words, plates 

 of bark of equal size are removed, and the new parts thus 

 laid bare are bound together in close contact, with a pre- 

 pared wrapping which keeps out the air. In one month 

 (not in two weeks as in budding) if the work has been 

 properly done, union between the two will have taken 

 place, and then all that is necessary is to cut loose the 

 scion from its original parent, and bring down its foster 

 mother to the level of the " child of its adoption," when 

 a new plant of the desired kind will be the result, without 



