174 THE PRINCIPLES OF FLORICULTURE 



food and will wilt quickly. Wood taken from the last few 

 nodes of a flower stem usually produces the best results. 

 Many propagators use " blind " wood. The selected 

 wood for cions is taken to the grafting room. 



139. The grafting process. The man who is to do the 

 grafting seats himself on a low stool. The table or bench 

 should be about four inches above the grafter's knees. He 

 takes one of the potted stock firmly in his left hand, and 

 with his right hand, he draws a slanting cut upward with 

 a sharp knife. Care should be taken not to pull the stock 

 from the soil, nor even to loosen it. Any great strain 

 will injure the feeding roots. The knife should be per- 

 fectly sharp so that the pith is cut smoothly and the 

 tissue not torn. A similar cut is next made on the cion. 

 The length of the cion depends on the length of the nodes, 

 but it should not be more than one and one-half inches 

 long. Most propagators leave but one bud on a cion. 

 The leaf area is reduced to lower the transpiration from the 

 tissue until stock and cion have joined. 



The cion is held firmly against the stock, care being 

 taken to place it so that the cambium layer at the base 

 of the cion and at the base of the cut on the stock are 

 joined, also that the cambium on at least one side of stock 

 and cion meet. The stock and cion are firmly held to- 

 gether with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand while 

 they are wound tightly with raffia by the right hand. The 

 winding extends from the upper part of the graft down- 

 ward. This raffia should not entirely cover the cut surface, 

 for it is necessary that the cut area get a little atmospheric 

 oxygen to hasten the healing process. It is essential that 

 the union be as perfect as possible. Often the stock and 

 cion join, and there is an apparently healthy union, but 

 if care has not been taken to place all parts of the cambium 



