PROPAGATION BY GRAFTING. 95 



spring in the house, it will be sufficient to bury their 

 lower ends in earth, in a cool, dry cellar ; but if wanted 

 for out-door grafting, they should be buried in dry sand 

 soil, in a pit, on the north side of a, wall or fence, and 

 deeply covered with earth drawn up in a mound to throw 

 off the water. They are thus kept perfectly dormant un- 

 til used, and not so dry as to shrivel the bark, They 

 should always be taken from healthy, vigorous trees ex- 

 clusively, and be of firm, well-ripened wood from the up- 

 per branches of the tree. A moderate-sized shoot or cion, 

 if well matured and sound, is much better than one as 

 thick as a man's finger, pithy and unripe. The implements 

 used in grafting are the grafting-knife, saw, and chisel, 

 (see implements). In whip-grafting or splice-grafting, 

 the stocks being small require the knife only, or not more 

 than the knife and chisel. It is always better to have two 

 knives one to prune and do the rough work, and the 

 other to prepare the cion. Grafting composition is pre- 

 pared in various ways. Hosin, beesioax, and tallow, in 

 about equal parts, answer very well. Lately, however, 

 we have found it better to use more rosin and less bees- 

 wax and tallow ; thus, to two pounds of rosin we add one 

 and one-fourth pounds of beeswax, and three-fourths of a 

 pound of tallow. For whip-grafting on the root, and 

 small trees in the nursery, we use thin calico cloth, satu- 

 rated with this composition, instead of the composition it- 

 self, and find it more convenient and expeditious. For 

 root grafts, instead of cloth, we now use paper, which we 

 find answers the purpose perfectly. This paper is a cheap 

 brown article known here as " grafting paper " and is used 

 by nearly all nurserymen for this purpose. The liquid 

 wax is spread on the paper with a brush, after which it is 

 cut into strips an inch or so wide, ready for use. (Instead 

 of tallow we now use raw linseed oil, a pint of which is equal 

 to a pound of tallow.) We tear the calico into narrow, 

 strips, roll it into balls, and then soak it in the liquid com- 



