90 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Grafting' continued. 

 that the stocks should be cut down a month beforehand, 



Grafting continued. 

 scion, which should be inserted about April, when the 



the cuts being again made fresh at Grafting time. The sap is flowing. Grafts with dormant buds are made 



from wood of the current year, and put in about 

 August or September, to develop the following year. 



FIG. 141. WEDGE-GRAFTING. 



scion should be about Gin. long, with two or three eyes 

 attached to the upper part. The lower half is cut in a 

 sloping direction, the same as the splice-graft, and the 

 notch or shoulder formed in cutting it is made to fit on 

 the top of the stock. It is then inserted between the 

 bark and wood, which readily separate, if in proper con- 

 dition. One or more scions may be inserted, according 



FIGS. 142 AND 143. CROWN OR RIND-GRAFTING. 

 to the size of the stem intended for their reception (see 

 Figs. 142 and 143). The cut parts should be afterwards 

 covered with a bandage, not made too tight, and clay or 

 grafting wax. In what is known as Improved Crown- 

 grafting, the top of the stock is cut obliquely, and the 

 bark only raised on one side of the longitudinal cut made 

 for the reception of the scion ; the motive being to 

 increase the points of contact between the two portions 

 of bark, and accelerate their cohesion. 



Side-grafting is employed for inserting scions without 

 cutting away the head of the stock. It is useful for pro- 

 pagating plants, and also for supplying, where deficient, 

 a branch or stem to any part of a tree (see Fig. 144). 

 There are two systems of Side-grafting: one, by placing 

 a simple, or occasionally a based, branch under the bark, 

 and the other, by inserting branches in clefts cut in the 

 alburnum. A side-graft under the bark may either con- 

 sist of a branch, having what is termed a shooting-bud, 

 or it may possess one that is dormant. If the former 

 is selected, a branch of the previous year forms the 



FIG. 144. SIDE-GRAFTING. 



The scion may be prepared for the side of an upright 

 stock by making a long splice-cut in the lower part, 

 taking care to render it smooth throughout, and thin at 

 the point. Incisions, not penetrating the alburnum, are 

 then made in the stock, and the scion inserted, in 

 much the same manner as a bud, tied in, and covered 

 with clay or wax. On horizontal branches, the stock 

 may have a notch cut, and a portion of the bark raised 

 nearer the tree (see Fig. 144, a), the scion b being pre- 

 pared to fit, as shown at c. It will be observed that 

 Double - grafting on established fruit-trees of inferior 

 quality might be largely practised, if desired, by this 

 method. Side-grafting in the alburnum, with an oblique 

 or vertical cleft, is more especially adapted for ever- 

 greens, when the operation is performed, under glass, in 

 February, or the latter part of summer. 



Ordinary Veneer - grafting is principally employed 

 for propagating various trees and evergreen shrubs, 

 either in spring or autumn, the former preferred. The 

 scion should be well ripened, either of the previous 

 or current year, according to the time it is inserted, and 

 the stock must be in a state of activity. In an ever- 

 green scion, the leaves from the top are not removed. 

 It must be cut with an even splice-cut, about lin. long, 

 and fitted on the side of the stock previously prepared 

 by having just the same quantity of bark, as far as the 

 first layers of the alburnum, removed that the size of 

 the out portion in the scion requires. Both parts are 

 then fitted without a cleft or incision being made in the 

 wood; and, after being tied closely with a woollen or 

 cotton bandage, are placed in close frames, with or with- 

 out grafting wax. The stock should not be headed at 

 first ; when the parts have properly united, it may be 

 gradually removed. This method answers well for Rho- 

 dodendrons. 



Grafting by Approach, or Inarching, is the oldest 

 system known; examples being frequently seen in trees 

 growing naturally together. It was formerly practised 

 with trees, to form arches, doorways, &c., for pic- 

 turesque effect, but is now more generally in use for 

 propagating plants that do not succeed well under other 

 methods. The season for Grafting by Approach begins 

 with the flow of sap in the spring, and ends with 

 it in autumn. The operation is performed when the 

 leaves are on the plants forming the stock and scion, 

 and they are allowed to remain on both for some time. 

 The scion intended for Inarching must either be a movable 



