49 



The scion should have one or two buds or eyes. One is sufficient, if 

 the nursery in which they are planted is in a very moist, friable, rich 

 soil, in which case the joining may be very near the surface. But 

 when there is the slightest chance of drying out, there should be at least 

 two eyes, in which case the junction may be buried much deeper in 

 dry soils. As has been already stated, care should be taken not to bury 

 the joint too deeply; for not only is there danger of smothering the graft 

 from lack of sufficient air, but the shoots or growth will be imperfect. 



The whole question, then, is one of the exercise of common sense. One 

 must be capable of judging of the mean between too dry and too wet, too 

 shallow and too deep. In all these operations one can but indicate the 

 general principles, and the rest must be left to the common sense of the 

 operator. The basis of all viticulture is, of course, common sense. 



Grafted cuttings which are made in April or before, or have to be kept 

 for some time, are always tied with raffia which has been dipped in 

 bluestone, as before described; or the tin or lead bands and the blue- 

 stone raffia may be used. After April, the simple, undipped raffia is 

 used. In any case, however, it must be remembered that the bands of 

 raffia should not touch each other, but a space should be left between, 

 so that there may be free access of air to aid in the formation of callus. 



Heeling In. Grafted cuttings thus made are either planted immedi- 

 ately (in April), or kept until a more favorable time. In the latter case 

 they are tied in bundles of ten or twenty, and buried in cool sand, out 

 of doors, but protected from the rain, frost, and sun. While they should 

 not be buried so deeply as to prevent aeration, they should be covered 

 sufficiently to avoid great variations of temperature, and drying out. 

 In other words, they should be kept as were scions under the old system. 

 This is all exceedingly simple, requiring only a little attention. Grafted 

 cuttings in a moist, sandy place take, little by little, the moisture they 

 require; the temperature is then more constant and greater, especially 

 if they are so placed as to be in the sunshine part of the day, in which 

 case the joining tissue will frequently form before they are ready to be 

 planted out in nursery. What must be avoided is an excess of moisture, 

 which will, it is true, hasten the appearance of roots, but which is very 

 unfavorable to the formation of cicatricial tissue necessary for the 

 formation of the joint. The sand in which the grafted cuttings are 

 preserved should not contain more than from 5% to 10% of water. 



When all these precautions have been taken, the joint is almost com- 

 plete by the end of a month, the scion commencing to develop and the 

 roots to grow. It is at this moment that the cuttings should be planted 

 in nursery. It is not deemed advisable to keep the cuttings in moss, for 

 many reasons needless to be enlarged upon at this time. 



4 RV 



