GR A 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



GR A 



635 



though the grafts receive their nourishment from the stocks, 

 yet their varieties are never altered by them, but continue to 

 produce the same kind of fruit as the tree from which they 

 were taken ; the only alteration is, that when the stocks on 

 which they are grafted do not grow so fast, and afford a suf- 

 ficient supply of nourishment to the grafts, they will not 

 make half so much progress as they otherwise would have 

 done, nor will the fruit they produce be so fair, and some- 

 times not so well flavoured. The shoots are termed cioiis 

 or grafts, and in the choice of them the following directions 

 should be carefully observed : 1. That they are shoots of the 

 preceding year, for when older they never succeed well. 

 2. Always take them from healthy and fruitful trees, for if 

 the trees from whence they are taken be sickly, the grafts 

 very often partake so much of the parent distemper, as rarely 

 to get the better of it, at least for some years ; and when 

 they are taken from young luxuriant trees, whose vessels are 

 generally large, they will continue to produce luxuriant 

 shoots, but are seldom so productive as those taken from 

 fruitful trees, whose shoots are more compact, and the joints 

 closer together: it will always be some years before the luxu- 

 riant grafts begin to produce fruit, even when managed with 

 the greatest skill. 3. Prefer those grafts which are taken 

 from the lateral or horizontal branches, to those from the 

 strong perpendicular shoots, for the reasons before given. 

 These grafts or cions should be cut off from the trees before 

 the buds begin to swell, which is generally three weeks or a 

 month before the season for grafting ; therefore when they 

 are cut off, they should be laid in the ground with the cut 

 downwards, burying them half their length, and covering 

 their tops with litter, to prevent their drying: if a small joint 

 of the former year's wood be cut off the cion, it will pre- 

 serve it the better, and when they are grafted, this may be 

 cut off; for at the same time, the cions must be cut to a 

 proper length before they are inserted in the stocks; but, till 

 then, the shoots should remain in their full length, as they 

 were taken from the tree, which better preserves them from 

 shrinking. If these cions are to be carried to a considerable 

 distance, it will be proper to put their ends into a lump of 

 clay, and to wrap them up in moss, which will preserve them 

 fresh for a month or longer, but these should be cut off ear- 

 lier from the trees, than those which are to be grafted near 

 the place where the trees are growing. Having given direc- 

 tions for the cions and grafts, we next come to that of the 

 stock, which is a term applied to the trees intended for graft- 

 ing ; these are either such old ones as are already growing 

 in the places where they are to remain, whose fruit is intended 

 to be changed, or young trees, which have been raised in a 

 nursery for a supply to the garden ; in the former case, there 

 is no other choice but that of the branches, which should be 

 such as are young, healthy, well-situated, and have a smooth 

 bark : if these trees are growing against walls, or espaliers, 

 it will be proper to graft six, eight, or ten branches, according 

 to the size of the tree, by which they will be much sooner 

 furnished with branches again, than when a less number of 

 cions are put in ; but in standard trees, four, or at most six 

 cions, will be sufficient. In the choice of young stocks for 

 grafting, you should always prefer such as have been raised 

 from the seed, and that have been once or twice transplanted : 

 next to these, are those stocks which have been raised from 

 cuttings or layers; but those which are suckers from the roots 

 of other trees should always be rejected, for these are never 

 so well rooted as the others, and constantly put out a great 

 number of suckers from their roots, whereby the borders and 

 walks of the garden will be always pestered with them during 

 the summer season, which is not only unsightly, but they 



also take off part of the nourishment from the trees. If these 

 stocks have been allowed a proper distance in the nursery 

 where they have grown, the wood will be better ripened and 

 more compact than those which have grown close, and have 

 been thereby drawn up to a greater height; the wood of 

 these will be soft, and their vessels large, so that the cions 

 grafted into them will shoot very strong, but they will be 

 less disposed to produce fruit than the others; and when trees 

 acquire an il! habit at first, it will be very difficult to reclaim 

 them afterwards. Having directed the choice of cions and 

 stocks, we have now to describe the operation; in order to 

 which, the operator must be provided with the following 

 tools: 1. a neat small hand-saw, to cut off the heads of large 

 stocks; 2. a good strong knife with a thick back, to make 

 clefts in the stocks; 3. a sharp penknife, to cut the grafts; 4. 

 a grafting chisel, and a small mallet; 5. a wedge, to keep 

 open the clefts in large stocks till the insertion of the graft; 6. 

 bass strings, or woollen yarn, to tie the grafts with, and such 

 other instruments and materials as will be necessary and suit- 

 able to the kind of grafting to be performed; 7. a quantity of 

 clay, which should be prepared a month before it is used, and 

 kept turned and mixed like mortar every other day; this is to 

 be made after the following manner: Procure a quantity of 

 strong fat loam ; then take some new well-fed horse-dung, 

 and break it in amongst the loam, and if you cut a little 

 straw or hay very small, and mix amongst it, the loam will 

 hold together the better ; and if there be a quantity of salt 

 added, it will prevent the clay from dividing in dry weather; 

 these must be well stirred together, with the addition of 

 water, as in making mortar. The whole mass should be hol- 

 lowed like a dish, and filled with water, and kept every other 

 day stirred; but it ought to be remembered, that it should 

 not be exposed to the frost or drying winds, and the oftener 

 it is stirred and wrought the better. Of late years, some 

 persons have made use of another composition for grafting, 

 which they have found more effectually to exclude the air 

 than the clay just described : this is composed of turpentine, 

 bees' wax, and resin, melted together, which, when of a pro- 

 per consistence, may be put on the stock round the graft, 

 in the same manner as the clay is usually applied, and though 

 it be not above a quarter of an inch thick, yet it will keep 

 out the air more effectually than the clay ; and as cold will 

 harden this, there is no danger of its being hurt by frost, 

 which is very apt to cause the clay to leave, and sometimes 

 fall of; and when the heat of summer comes on, this mixture 

 will melt, and fall off without any trouble. In order to use 

 this, there should be a tin or copper pot, with a conveniency 

 under it to keep a very gentle fire with small coal, otherwise 

 the cold will soon condense the mixture ; but you must be 

 careful not to apply it too hot, lest the heat should injure the 

 graft. There are various ways of grafting; we shall enume- 

 rate five of the principal. 1. Grafting in the rind, called also 

 shoulder-grafting, which is only proper for large trees; this is 

 termed crown-grafting, because the grafts are set in the form 

 of a circle or crown, and is generally performed about the lat- 

 ter end of March, or the beginning of April. 2. Cleft Graft- 

 ing, which is also called stock or slit-grafting; this is proper 

 for trees or stocks of a lesser size, from an inch to two inches 

 or more in diameter ; this grafting is to be performed in the 

 months of February or March, and supplies the failure of 

 the escutcheon-way, which is practised in June, July, and Au- 

 gust. 3. Whip Grafting, which is also called tongue-graft- 

 ing; this is proper for small stocks of an inch, half an inch, 

 or less diameter ; this is the most effectual way of any, and 

 which is most in use. 4. Grafting by approach, or ablacta- 

 tion. This is to be performed when the stock you would 



