GRAFTING AND NURSERIES. 25! 



in fresh sand, outside, taking care, however, to shelter 

 them from frosts and variations of temperature, which 

 might damage the joint. In a word, grafted cuttings should 

 be preserved, as was formerly done in the case of ordinary 

 cuttings. This method is the simplest and most effective. 

 The grafts, being in a moist surrounding, do not lose the 

 water necessary to their growth ; the temperature is higher 

 and more constant, especially if the heaps of sand are placed 

 in a sunny place against a wall ; this induces the formation 

 of knitting tissue, and often, when the time of planting out 

 has arrived, the knitting is partially effected, and roots have 

 developed on the stock. 



An excess of humidity must be avoided ; it hastens, it is 

 true, the formation of roots, but opposes the formation of 

 knitting tissue. If the sand is too damp, the callusing is 

 defective. The sand should not contain more than 5 to 10 

 per cent, of water. It is therefore necessary to shelter it from 

 heavy rain. 



When all these precautions are taken, the knitting is 

 almost completed after a month's stratification, and both 

 stock and scion begin to develop. This is the best time to 

 plant them out in the nursery. Grafted cuttings may also 

 be callused in moss. The results are good if water is not 

 present in excess. But the use of moss presents certain 

 difficulties which do not apply to sand. It has to be watered 

 often to prevent drying; the water is often in excess, and 

 grafted cuttings stratified in this material develop without 

 knitting. 



(c) Preservation of stocks and scions. The canes to be 

 used as stocks are preserved in the same way (if not cut and 

 used directly). Sand is to be preferred to earth, as it does 

 not soil them. 



The scions may be cut from the stump until the end of 

 February; after that they are preserved in almost dry sand, 

 in a shed exposed to the north, as already explained. 

 When they are to be used, the section of the bark should be 

 of a bright green colour. If it is whitish, it indicates that 

 they have become too dry. 



