122 THE FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE, 



They keep quite fresh in moist sand, on the north side of a wall, for a lengthened 

 period. It is essential that the cuttings be kept fresh and the buds dormant until 

 required for grafting ; therefore the soil must be moist, and the situation cool and shaded. 

 Cuttings for grafting may be sent any distance by post or otherwise if packed in damp 

 cocoa-nut fibre refuse. They are transmitted safely in that material, in close tin 

 cases, to America and the Antipodes. The only precaution necessary is to cut the 

 scions when dormant. For short distances the cuttings are safely dispatched in damp 

 rag wrapped in oilskin, or a thin sheet of gutta percha. 



Assuming the operator to be provided with the necessary tools namely, a very 

 sharp strong knife for cutting oft the heads of young stocks and other preliminary 

 trimming, and a smaller one kept for preparing the stock and scion; some yarn or 

 cotton wicking when grafting-wax is used, or bast or raffia when clay is to be 

 employed, and the buds in the stock are on the point of opening operations may 

 begin. The scions will be best in a basket, covering them with damp moss or other 

 material to prevent drying. Labels will also be necessary for naming the varieties 

 about to be attached, or for numbering them, the names with corresponding numbers 

 being entered in a book. This should always be done. 



Begin at one end of a row of stocks and take the trees in order. Cut off the top 

 of the stock (Fig. 20), </, down to the distance from the ground at which the scion is to 

 be affixed. This cut should be made by putting the edge of the knife just opposite a 

 bud (a) and bringing it out about a quarter to half an inch above the bud with a gentle 

 slope (b). Next take a scion, K, and prepare it by making a slanting cut from 2 to 

 3 inches long, according to the size of the cutting, through the scion as shown by 

 the bar line. Kemove the lowest bud (c) on the scion, leaving four ; but two buds are 

 ample for a weak stock, three for a vigorous, and four for a strong one. "With the cut 

 of the scion as a guide, make a slip upwards in the stock on the same side as 

 the knife was first inserted, for cutting off the top of the stock. This slip should 

 correspond with the slanting cut of the scion. It will remove a portion of bark 

 and wood, showing a section of the living tissue which throws off a ring of wood on 

 one side and a layer of bark on the other, and is represented at L. Next make a 

 slanting cut inwards at the upper edge of the cut of the scion about an eighth to a 

 quarter of an inch deep, and slanting exactly the same as the top of the stock on which 

 it is to rest. This is shown in the scion, M t at J, and sectionally in e. Remove the 

 small portion of wood with a cut upward, place the cut portion of the scion against 



