Methods of Propagation 



family. There are several 

 ways in which grafting may 

 be done, and the principal 

 ones will be mentioned. 



Whip Grafting-. This 

 is the best method when the 

 stock and scion (or graft) 

 are nearly of the same 

 thickness, and thousands of 

 fruit trees are propagated 

 in this way every March 

 and April in the open air. 

 Preparatory to grafting 

 taking place the stock is 

 usually "headed" back in 

 January or February; that 

 is, the stem is cut off, leav- 

 ing a stump a few inches 

 high sticking out of the 

 ground. The cut surface 



Fig. 75. A Graft or Scion A, cut and tongued at T to fit top of 

 Stock B; at o is shown the Graft and Stock united, tied, and 

 waxed or clayed 



The 



soon heals, as little or no sap is rising at that cold period of the year, 

 grafts or scions, which always consist 

 of ripened one-year-old shoots, are also 

 severed about the end of January or 

 February, and are "heeled in" in bundles 

 under a north wall. This prevents them 

 starting into growth prematurely, and 

 keeps the sap in them in a less active 

 condition than if the shoots were 

 allowed to remain on the parent plant. 

 The grafting period in the open air 

 being reached, that is, in March and 

 April, a slanting cut is made in the 

 stock as shown in fig. 75, and a nick 

 is made in it to form a tongue. The 

 graft or scion, having two or three 

 buds attached, is also cut obliquely, as 

 shown in the figure, and a tongue is 

 also made in it so that it shall fit into 

 the one made in the stock. The two 

 cut surfaces should be about the same 

 length and width if possible, but it is 

 not essential. One edge of the scion, 

 however, must be made to fit flush with 

 the edge of the stock, to bring the 

 cambium layer of each face to face, because it is by means of the new cells 



Fig. 76. Showing how Badly Treated Young Fruit 

 Trees are grafted in some Market Gardens 



