AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



80 



Grafting 1 continued. 



Whip, Splice, or Tongue-grafting. This is the best 

 method, and the one generally and most extensively prac- 

 tised in this country. It is represented in Fig. 136, where 

 A shows the stock, B the scion, and c the two fitted 

 together and tied. Whip-grafting is easily performed, 

 and is tolerably certain in its effects, provided the essen- 

 tial conditions be insured, and the work carefully exe- 

 cuted. The stock should not be removed until the graft 

 is ready to be inserted, in order that the parts may be 

 quite fresh. It should be cut in a sloping direction, 

 just above a bud if possible, as this sometimes prevents 

 the old wood from dying back. The scion (B) should 

 then be similarly cut through obliquely from d to e, 

 allowing the latter point to be quite thin. Next, a thin 

 tongue, /, must be cut in an upward direction, and the 

 scion will then be ready for insertion. The stock should 

 now be cut in a corresponding manner, so that the 

 tongue fits in its place, and the inner barks come 

 into direct contact with each other when pressed 

 together. Where there is a difference in the sizes 

 of the two parts used, the scion must be placed a 

 little on one side, to insure a union being effected at 

 some part of its surface. The notch should be kept 

 open by the point of a knife until the tongue is pro- 

 perly inserted. When the exposed parts have been 

 fitted as accurately as possible, they should be bound 

 with a ligature of woollen thread, or material of a like 

 description, to hold everything firmly in position, and 

 at once covered with clay or grafting wax, for excluding 

 air and preventing the sun and wind from drying up the 

 sap. 



Cleft- grafting. In this mode, which is a very objec- 

 tionable one in many respects, the stock has to be 

 split open by a chisel or other instrument, and the scion 

 cut wedge-shaped, and fitted in the cleft, so that the 

 inner barks may meet each other. The plan is largely 

 adopted in some parts of the country for woody de- 

 ciduous trees and plants with old stocks, which are 

 split across, sometimes transversely each way, and two 



FIG. 137. CLEFT-GRAFTING. 



or more grafts inserted, according to the size (see Fig. 

 137). The objection is, that the wide cleft necessarily 

 made in the solid wood can never unite again in the 

 centre, although, after some time, it may be partially 

 covered by the scions growing over. Another form of 

 Cleft-grafting is shown in Fig. 138, where stock and 

 scion are of the same size. This also has some ob- 

 jections, the stock having to be split and fitted with 

 a wedge a, formed on the end of the scion. The cleft 

 invariably extends beyond where it is intended the graft 



Vol. IL 



Grafting 1 continued. 



should reach, and, if this happens, the latter, when 

 fitted, prevents that portion of the stock from again 

 becoming united. The stock and scion should be pre- 

 pared so that all the parts coincide. 



FIG. 138. CLEFT-GRAFTING. 



Saddle-grafting. In Saddle-grafting, the stock and scion 

 must, of necessity, be of nearly equal thickness, as the 

 former is cut sloping on each side, like a wedge, and the 

 latter is split up the centre and thinned, to allow of it 

 fitting accurately on the top, as shown in the illustra- 



FIGS. 139 AND 140. SADDLE-GRAFTING. 



tions (see Figs. 139 and 140). It is important that the 

 scion should not be split further than the end of the stock 

 will reach, and the wood in both should be clean cut 

 with a thin, narrow-bladed knife. For Saddle-grafting, 

 the wood is usually young and vigorous ; care must 

 therefore be taken that the ligature is not made too tight 

 at first, and that it is loosened afterwards before injury 

 is caused to the bark. This method has been success- 

 fully practised for obtaining dwarf flowering plants of 

 Rhododendrons by Grafting terminal shoots just before 

 the flowering season arrives, and placing them in a close 

 frame, without bandaging or anything beyond a tie. In 

 Wedge-grafting, the positions of parts are reversed, the 

 scion being made wedge-shaped, and fitted into an in- 

 cision of similar shape and size cut in the stock (see 

 Fig. 141). 



Crown or Rind-grafting has advantages over Cleft-graft- 

 ing, it being practicable to work stocks of considerable 

 age and size without cleaving, and rendering the t wood 

 unsound. It is practised in spring, when the bark easily 

 separates ; and with this method it has been recommended 



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