CRACKLE 



2T>4<) 



GRAFTING 



Paris, the work of a French artist, Jean Bap- 

 tiste Regnault. 



CRACKLE, or GRAKLE, grak"l, in America, 

 the name applied to various kinds of black- 

 birds, the best known of which is the purple 

 grackle, or crow-blackbird, common throughout 

 the Eastern and Central United States and 

 northwestward to Alaska. In India and in 

 Europe the name is given to various birds of 

 the starling family which show considerable 

 intelligence; they readily learn to perform va- 

 rious amusing tricks, and can imitate the hu- 

 man voice. 



GRADY, gra'di, HENRY WOODFIN (1851-1889), 

 an American orator and journalist, whose splen- 

 did work as editor of the Atlanta Constitution 

 from 1880 to his death was an important factor 

 in uniting the South and the North after the 

 War of Secession. He was born in Athens, Ga., 

 and after being educated at the University of 

 Georgia began his work as a journalist in a 

 series of letters on the resources of his native 

 state. As correspondent of various publications 

 he attracted wide notice by his articles on 

 building up the South, while "The New South" 

 was his chief topic as an orator. In Atlanta 

 the Grady Memorial Hospital was erected in 

 appreciation of Mr. Grady's work. 



GRAFT 'ING. If a bud or twig from one 

 plant be inserted in a cut made in the sur- 

 face of another, of the same or a related 

 species, in such a way that there can be a cir- 

 culation of sap between the parts, the two will 

 unite and a new growth will result. This oper- 

 ation, known as grafting, or graftage, is a 

 method of propagating plants which is em- 

 ployed in the culture of nearly every kind of 

 fruit tree and of numerous flowers, ornamental 

 trees and shrubs. The portion upon which the 

 detached shoot is inserted is called the stock; 

 the transferred part is called the don (or 

 scion), and the new growth the graft. The 

 practical value of this form of plant hus- 

 bandry is unquestioned, but its full possibili- 

 ties and its limitations can be learned only by 

 direct study and experiment. 



Purposes of Grafting. The fundamental ob- 

 ject in grafting is to perpetuate a variety which 

 does not reproduce by seeds, and which cannot 

 be grown from cuttings with economy. The 

 art of graftage, however, has several other dis- 

 tinct advantages. It is employed in many 

 instances to increase the rate and ease of multi- 

 plying plants, for the new growths are borne 

 upon old roots or branches, and the time neces- 

 sary for producing new roots is saved. Graft- 



ing also may bring about a desired change in 

 the character or habit of cion or stock. Such 

 a change may be the dwarfing of a certain 

 variety, a device sometimes employed to in- 

 crease the yield of a plant, for checking growth 

 usually promotes fruitfulness. New' varieties 

 are also developed, having characteristics of 

 the two plants which have been united. 



Again, plants are sometimes adapted to un- 

 favorable soils by means of graftage, as in the 

 case of certain varieties of plums, which ordi- 

 narily flourish only in heavy soils. When 

 grafted on the peach such plums thrive in 

 light soils, and peaches can in the same manner 

 be made to grow in heavy soils. The fruit- 

 grower also resorts to graftage to adapt his 

 plants to unfavorable conditions of climate. 

 The date of fruit-bearing is frequently ad- 

 vanced by inserting cions from young orchard 

 trees into the stocks of old trees. This process 

 is of special advantage . to nurserymen who 

 wish to test new orchard fruits. Finally, fniits 

 are increased in size, and their flavor and keep- 

 ing qualities are improved by graftage. The 

 art is also employed successfully in modifying 

 the colors of foliage, flowers and fruit. 



General Methods. Though the methods of 

 grafting are numerous and varied, there is one 

 thing absolutely necessary for success, and that 

 is to have the cambium layer of the cion coin- 

 cide at some point with the corresponding 

 layer of the stock. The cambium layer is the 

 living tissue in phfiits, the part through which 

 rises the sap that nourishes them. In the 

 spring, when it is in a soft, mucilagelike condi- 

 tion, it readily heals and unites wounded sur- 

 faces. For this reason spring is the most 

 favorable time for grafting most plants. How- 

 ever, the locality, the kind of plant, the climate 

 and the object in view must all be taken into 

 consideration, and no unvarying rule can be 

 stated as to time or method of starting new 

 growths. The wood for cions is taken when 

 the plant is in a resting condition, preferably 

 in the autumn after the leaves have fallen and 

 before the time of heavy frosts. The cions an- 

 then placed in moist soil or sand, where they 

 will be protected from freezing but not have 

 sufficient warmth to cause the buds to swell. 

 Sometimes, however, cuttings are taken in thr 

 spring, at or just before the time of graftage. 



The three general kinds of gruftuge arc bud 

 grafting, cion grafting and inarching. Each of 

 these can be subdivided into several classes, 

 but only the standard methods in common 

 use are discussed in the subheads below: 



