FARM, ORCHARD, DAIRY AND GARDEN. 



523 



GRAPE, Grafting. — One important 

 fact should always be borne in mind in 

 this connection, and that is, that the 

 grape vine, having a very thin inner bark 

 or liber, does not graft with the same ease 

 as do the more common of our fruit 

 trees, such as apple, pear, etc. ; more care 

 is, therefore, necessary in the operation. 



Cleft grafting is the common mode 

 employed, and is usually done by dig- 

 ging away the earth, and inserting the 

 graft very early in the spring, two or 

 three inches, or at the first smooth place 

 below the surface. A horizontal cut of 

 the stock is generally made, but a sloping 

 one is, perhaps, preferable, from the fact 

 that it enables all the gummy matter and 

 excessive moisture which oozes from the 

 cut, to run down, and not accumulate to 

 the injury of the cion. Fuller recom- 

 mends grafting in the fall; yet we give 

 his method in his own words, as recently 

 published in the New York Iribune : 



"Select cions of the present year's 

 growth, and from canes a quarter to 

 three-eighths of an inch in diameter, and 

 cut into lengths of three inches, with a 

 bud near the upper end. The lower end 

 should be made into a long, slender 

 wedge. Remove the earth about the 

 stock four to six inches, if the main 

 branching roots will permit of this depth. 

 Then cut off the vine a few inches below 

 the surface and square across ; then split 

 it with a chisel or a knife, making as 

 smooth a cleft as possible for the recep- 

 tion of the wedge-shaped cion. v If the 

 stock is an inch or more in diameter, two 

 cions may be needed, one on each side 

 of the cleft 



•' The outer edge or the wood of the 

 cion should be placed even with the outer 

 edge of the wood of the stock, no atten- 

 tion being paid to the uniting of the 

 two, because one will be very thick and 

 the other thin. A nice fit of the two is 

 essential, and in crooked-grained, gnarly 

 stocks, a smooth, even cleft can only be 

 made by cutting out the wood with a 

 sharp instrument. But it does not mat- 

 ter how it is done so it is well done. 

 After fitting the cions to stock, wind a 

 strong cord about the two, in order to 

 hold the former firm in place ; then pack 

 grafting clay or common soil about the 

 stock, entirely covering the wound made 

 and the lower half of the cion, but leav- 



ing the bud uncovered. No grafting 

 wax should be employed in grafting 

 grape vines. After the cions have been 

 inserted as directed, invert a flower-pot 

 or small box over the cion; upon this. 

 place a quantity of leaves, straw or hay; 

 then cover all with earth, rounding it up 

 in order to keep the water from settling 

 around the grafted stock as well as to 

 prevent too severe freezing. 



"Early in spring remove the covering, 

 and if the operation has been properly 

 performed, the cion will be firmly united,, 

 and will push into growth as the season 

 advances. I have had Delaware, Iona 

 and similar varieties make a growth of 

 from forty to sixty feet of vine from a 

 single bud in one season, set in strong 

 stocks in the manner described. Graft- 

 ing in the spring may be performed in the 

 same manner, omitting the covering, but 

 it should be done very early or after the 

 leaves have started and growth begun. 

 The cions, however, should be cut early 

 and kept dormant in some cool place 

 until wanted for use.' ' 



But valuable above all other expe- 

 rience for our own people, will be that of 

 Mr. George Husmann, and as he has 

 said little on the subject in his well 

 known work, "Grapes and Wine," we- 

 take pleasure in giving that experience, 

 as he has kindly communicated it to us: 



"As you wished to have my views of 

 grafting the vine, especially with the ob- 

 ject of grafting some of our varieties most 

 subject to the ravages of the Phylloxera 

 upon roots of varieties which resist it, I 

 will cheerfully add my mite to the re- 

 searches which have already thrown so 

 much light upon the history and the fail- 

 ure of so many of our otherwise most 

 valuable varieties. My first attempts at 

 grafting the vine were made in the spring 

 of 1852, nearly twenty-three years since, 

 and were made by grafting the then rare 

 varieties of Norton's Virginia and Her- 

 bemont upon five years old Isabella 

 roots. I found in the first edition of A. 

 S. Downing's * Fruits and Fruit Trees of 

 America,' a few remarks on the practica- 

 bility of grafting the grape below the 

 ground, which led me, then a novice in 

 horticulture, to try it, and with eminent 

 success. I took the ground away from 

 the crown of the vine until I came to a, 

 smooth place, then cut off the stock,. 



