124 FARMER'S ASSISTANT. 



sickly ones, the grafts often partake of the distemper; that? 

 if taken from young luxuriant trees, they may produce 

 luxuriant shoots; but will not be so productive, as those 

 taken from fruitful trees ; that those which are taken from 

 lateral, or horizontal, branches are to be prefered to those 

 of the strong perpendicular shoots; and that none should 

 be taken from the sprouts of trees. 



Mr Forsyth prefers the whip grafting, for common cases; 

 but, for these, Mr. Deane prefers the cleft grafting. This, 

 he says, is most commonly practised in this Country, and is 

 attended with success It is done on the stocks in the nur- 

 sery, or on the small limbs of trees. The proper season 

 for it is just before the leaves begin to open. The head 

 of the stock must be cut off sloping, and a slit made sloping 

 the opposite way, deep enough to receive the scion, which 

 should be cut like a wedge, with the outside thicker than 

 the inner. The rind of the scion must exactly join the rind 

 of the stock. The slit should be opened by a wedge of hard 

 wood ; the scion should then be gently put in its place and 

 the stock closed. After this, the whole must be daubed 

 round closely with a mortar made of a mixture of loam 

 and fresh horsedung, so as completely to exclude the access 

 of air; and this mortar must be surrounded with a winding 

 of tow, or old cloths, to prevent the rains washing it away. 

 The scion should be covered nearly to the top with this 

 mortar; and it should also extend two or three inches 

 downwards round the stock. 



In place of this mortar, Forsyth recommends a plaister 

 made of pitch, turpentine, and beeswax, which is in like 

 manner to be daubed closely round, so as to exclude the 

 external air. The mortar, however, if well made, and 

 well applied, will answer very well, It should be composed 

 of fine loam, not clay; because clay will contract and crack 

 open, when dried. 



Cleft-grafting may be successfully performed on trees, 

 where the fibre of the outer bark runs round ; such as the 

 peach, plum, cherry, Sec. by first cuting through that bark, 

 with a knife, at the place where the cleft is to be made, 

 and in the same direction it may be expected to run ; when 

 the rest of the operation may be as easily performed as on 

 other trees. 



W hifi- grafting is performed by cuting off the head of the 

 stock sloping; then making a notch in the slope, from the 

 upper part downward, a little more than half an inch deep, 

 to receive the scion, which must be cut with a slope up- 

 ward, and a slit made in this like a tongue, which is to be 

 inserted into a slit made in the slope of the stock ; and the 

 scion is then set in, so that the rinds of each join exactly 

 together. The scion is then fastened by a ligature to keep 



