PROPAGATION 



193 



stock and cion shall meet, the cions are often made to diverge 



slightly. The cleft is then covered thoroughly with grafting 

 wax, to keep out insects and decay 

 until the wound heals. Crown grafting 

 is like cleft grafting except that it is 

 used in renewing the top of shrubs 

 and vines that have been cut off at 

 the surface of the soil. Cleft grafting 

 is rarely used except in attempts to 

 give old trees a new lease of life. For 

 all ordinary work whip grafting is em- 

 ployed. Numerous forms of this are in 

 use, but they differ for the most part 

 only in the way cion and stock are 

 joined. In the form called saddle graft- 

 ing the top of the stock is cut in wedge 

 shape and the cion is cut with a deep 

 notch to match it. In splice grafting 

 a long tapering cut from one side of 



the stock to the other fits a similar cut on the cion. Tongue 



grafting is an improved form of splice 



grafting, in which a longitudinal cut is 



made about one third of the distance 



from the tip of the cut in both cion and 



stock. These are then wedged together, 



forming a close union that is not readily 



injured by the weather. In veneer graft- 

 ing a notch is made through the bark of 



the stock, and the base of the cion, cut 



to fit, is inserted. Bridge grafting is 



sometimes employed to repair injuries 



to the bark of large trees. The edges 



of the wound are first straightened up and several twigs of 



the same species are obtained, their ends cut wedge shape 



FIG. 141. Cleft grafting 



This method is used on 

 large specimens 



\ 



FIG. 142. Three forms of 

 whip grafting 



