KESISTANT VINES; THEIR SELECTION, ADAPTATION, ETC. 43 



"that " English " grafting is the best of them all. By grafting the 

 cuttings, and then planting the grafted cutting in nursery, much of the 

 expense connected with the planting of a vineyard on resistant roots 

 will be obviated. It would certainly seem that if a people who have 

 made a success of 2,500,000,000 grafts have adopted this system as their 

 favorite, it is worth our consideration. 



Cleft Graft. In this case the stock is always larger than the graft, or 

 scion, the section being generally made with a shears or saw, as the size 

 of the trunk warrants. This is the most common system in California 

 where but little nursery grafting is practiced; partly from the necessities 

 of the case, arising from the fact that it has been deemed necessary to 

 graft only older vines, partly from the fact that our resistant stock is of 

 such poor and feeble varieties that it is difficult to obtain scions that 

 are anywhere near the same size as the stock. This difficulty being 

 about to become a thing of the past, vineyardists may look forward to 

 the time when the cleft graft will be practiced only in special cases, and 

 " English" grafted cuttings will be planted in nursery. 



The accompanying figures are given to illustrate what is meant by 

 cleft grafting (Figs. 1 to 9). This system having been so well described 

 and so generally known in this State, it is not necessary to dwell on 

 details, remarking in passing that with the illustrations and the general 

 principles already given, even a novice can readily learn it rapidly. 



It is to be observed from the general principles set forth in the 

 preceding part of the discussion that there should be as complete a 

 juxtaposition of the generating layers of the two barks as may be. 

 Also, that while moisture, if in excess, is bad for grafts in the process of 

 " taking," on the other hand, too great dryness is, if possible, worse. It 

 is probable that in California more damage is done from drought than 

 from excessive wetness at the graft. I have seen many grafters cut the 

 stock, as well as the scions, and leave them exposed to the action of the 

 sun and wind for many hours before covering them or joining them 

 together. Not only this, but in a naturally dry soil they either cover 

 the graft too little, or cover it with perfectly dry, hot earth. As has 

 already been said, air is necessary to the formation of callus, but so is 

 moisture, neither being in excess. This means that the grafts must be 

 covered not only with loose, but moist (not wet) soil. It is because of 

 this that compact wet or dry adobes or clays are found to be very bad 

 for successful grafting in nurseries, partly on account of lack of aera- 

 tion, partly on account of the natural tendency of such soils to " pack " 

 and "bake," and partly on account of the almost impossibility of 

 retaining sufficient moisture in them. Hence it is that for nurseries we 

 should always select a very sandy, moist soil, in default of which it will 

 be found that it will pay to haul sand to put around the joint of the 

 graft and the stock. This is frequently done with the greatest benefit. 

 Moderate irrigation is advisable in almost all the soils of California 

 when they are used for nurseries. As a general rule, the drier and more 

 refractory the soil, the deeper should be the burying of the graft, it being 

 understood that the graft should be ordinarily about an inch below the 

 natural level of the land. In cases where there is a great excess of 

 vigor of the scion over the stock, the depth of the graft should be 

 greater, though deep grafting necessitates the annual cutting away of 

 the suckers from the graft above the stock. 



