GRAFTING 



GRAFTING 



grafting under the head of "Insitions," and here he 

 minutely describes the cleft-graft, and speaks of it as 

 "the common way of grafting." The practice which we 

 now know as inarching or grafting by approach, he sig- 

 nificantly calls "Ablactation" (that is, suckling or wean- 

 ing). Now that so much is said about the proper and 



1673. Sharrock's illustration of grafting. 1672. 



careful selection of cions, it is interesting to read Shar- 

 rock's advice on this subject: "Good bearing trees are 

 made from Cyons of the like fruitfulness. . . . Cyons 

 are best chosen from the fairest, strongest shuits, not 

 from under shoots or suckers, which will be long ere 

 they bear fruit, which is contrary to the intention of 

 grafting." But we have seen that Pliny gave similar 

 advice before the Christian era, which is only another 

 illustration of the fact that most of our current notions 

 have their roots deep in the past. 



The accompanying cut (Fig. 1673) reproduced two- 

 thirds size from Robert Sharrock's "History of the Prop- 

 agation and Improvement of Vegetables," 1672, shows 

 various kinds of grafting in vogue over two centuries 

 ago. Following is the literal explanation of the plate: 



o. Denotes the ordinary cutting of the bark for inoculation. 

 66. The sides of the bark, lifted up for the putting in of the shield, 

 c. The shield taken off with the bud, which lies under the stalk 



of the leaf cut off. 



In. The shield put into the stock to be bound up. 

 a. The bark cut out in an oblong square, according to another 



usual way of inoculation. 



g. The shield cut out for the fitting the disbarked square. 

 m. The same shield put into the stock. 

 /. A variation of the forementioned way, by cutting off the 



upper part of the oblique square, and binding the lower 



part down upon the shield. 

 o. The shield so put in to be bound up. 

 e. Another variation by slitting the bark, that the bud and 



leaf may stand forth at e, and the bark slit be bound 



down upon the shield. 



k. 

 P- 



g or q. 

 r7. 



x. 

 u. 

 1 2. 

 3. 

 4. 

 5. 

 6. 



A cross cut for inoculation. 



The same cross cut lifted up in this figure, somewhat too big. 



The shield cut off to be put therein. 



The shield put in. 



The cut of cyon or stock for whip-grafting. 



The cut of cyon and stock for shoulder-grafting. 



The cut of the cyons, and slit of the stock for grafting in the 



cleft. 



The stock set for ablactation or approach. 

 The cyon of the branch for the same operation. 

 The branch that is to be taken off by circumposition. 

 The branch that bears up the mould to the disbarked place. 

 The branch of a carnation to be laid. 

 The joynt where the slit begins. 

 The' next joynt where the slit is propped open, with a piece 



of a carnation leaf put in. 



Budding. 



The operation of budding consists of inserting a 

 single detached bud underneath the bark of the stock. 

 It is employed only in stocks of small diameter, and 

 preferably in those not more than one year old. The 

 operation may be performed whenever the bark will 

 peel and whenever mature buds may be secured. The 

 bark will peel in early spring and again in late summer 

 or early autumn, and the operation of budding in the 

 open ground is therefore performed at those times. In 

 the spring the buds are secured from twigs of the pre- 

 vious season's growth. At the second budding season, 

 in late summer or early autumn, the buds are secured 

 from growing twigs of the season. At that time of the 

 year the buds will be sufficiently developed to be 

 easily recognized and handled. 



Budding is much employed in nurseries. Peaches, 

 cherries, plums, and most stone fruits, are habitually 

 budded rather than cion-grafted. In the East, apples 

 and pears are usually budded in the nursery; but in 

 the West apples at least are usually root-grafted. 

 Third-rate stocks are sometimes set in nursery rows and 

 budded the following July. 



It is practicable to insert buds rather than cions in 

 the tops of young trees, for the purpose of changing the 

 tree into a different variety. Sometimes the buds are 

 inserted in limbs two and three years old; but it is 

 usually preferable, if the tree is of some age, 

 to cut back the tree somewhat heavily the 

 previous season or the previous spring, to get 

 a growth of suckers into which the buds may 

 be set. 



The cutting from which the buds are taken 

 is known to budders as a stick (Fig. 1674). In 

 early spring-budding, this stick is the last 

 year's growth of the variety which it is desired 

 to rjropagate. Later in the season, the stick is 

 the twig grown in that season. Not all the 

 buds on the stick are strong enough or good 

 enough for budding. The budder will usually 

 discard the weak ones at the top and at the 

 bottom, unless he is very much pressed for 

 buds, as may be the case with new or rare 

 varieties. If the stick is taken late in the sea- 

 son the leaves will be on; but these are quickly 

 cut off to prevent too much evaporation from 

 the cutting. About % inch of the leaf-stalk is 

 left to serve as a handle to the bud. 



Shield-budding. 



The ordinary operation of budding is shown 

 in the illustrations. It is known as shield-bud- 

 ding, from the shape of the removed bud. 

 With a thin-bladed, sharp knife, the operator 

 slices off the bud by placing his thumb 

 beneath the bud and making a deft and quick 

 stroke of the blade. Just under the bud he 

 cuts a little into the wood. Some budders 

 afterward remove this bit of wood; but this is 

 not essential. If this wood is somewhat hard 

 and dry, or if it carries some pith, it may then 

 serve to dry out the bud or to prevent inti- 



