136 UNIVERSITY OP CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. 



unreliable unions when old. With vinifera hybrids, such as Aramon 

 X Rupestris No. 2 and Mourvedre X Rupestris 1202, the age of the 

 stock is not so important. 



The cuttings should be very carefully selected and only firm, healthy, 

 well-ripened wood used. They should be sufficiently long to allow 4 

 inches of the top to be left above the surface of the ground. This is 

 very necessary in order to make it possible to graft above the surface, 

 for the graft must be made on the part of the vine corresponding to 

 the original cutting. To graft in the new wood which has grown after 

 planting makes it necessary to wait two or three years, as the first year's 

 growth is usually too thin. Vines grafted in this way, moreover, give 

 very much more trouble by their inveterate habit of throwing out 

 suckers. For these reasons small, thin cuttings or the tips of canes 

 should not be planted in the field. Such cuttings, if well ripened, may 

 be planted in the nursery, where they will make a good growth the first 

 year, and where they may be nursery grafted. 



The cuttings of some resistant stocks, such as Aramon X Rupestris 

 No. 2, root with difficulty, and if planted directly in the field would 

 require much replanting. With these varieties it is better to plant 

 roots. With all varieties it is better to plant roots in soils where cuttings 

 strike with difficulty. An incomplete stand the first year is difficult to 

 overcome, and increases the expense by spreading the work of planting, 

 grafting, and regrafting over several years. At every stage of the 

 process of starting a vineyard by field grafting some vines may be lost 

 or spoiled, and it is only by the most thorough and careful work that 

 it is possible to avoid the ragged, uneven collection of crippled mon- 

 strosities that too often passes for a resistant vineyard. 



Age for Grafting. Whenever possible the vines should be grafted 

 the year after planting. Some stocks may make too small a growth of 

 top and root to make a strong graft the first year, and it will be necessary 

 to leave such stocks a year longer. Any stock which is % inch thick 

 and has made a fair top growth should be grafted. It is a great mistake 

 to wait two or three years until the vines are % or 1 inch thick, as is 

 done by many grafters. 



Methods of Grafting. Wherever possible the vines should be grafted 

 at or above the surface of the ground. In many cases, however, this 

 will be impossible. Some cuttings will have failed to start the top buds 

 and it will be necessary to go below the surface to find a smooth, suitable 

 part of the stock where grafting is possible. 



The kind of graft to use will depend on the size of the stock. For 

 stocks up to % inch in diameter the methods of tongue and wire grafting 

 already described are the best. For larger vines up to % inch a 



