1368 



GRAFTING 



GRAFTING 



new variety. If they are, budding is employed, as 

 already suggested: the limbs are headed back so that 

 new wood is secured in which the buds may be set. It 

 is important, in all top-working of fruit trees, to keep 

 down the suckers which spring up around the 

 cion, and which sometimes completely choke 

 it. In changing over the top of a fruit tree, all 

 the leading branches should be grafted (Pig. 

 1690). It is well to stand at some distance 

 from the tree and make a mental picture of 

 how the tree will look when the new top is 

 secured : the grafts should be set in approxi- 

 mately a radius from the center of the tree. 

 It is rare that the stock should be larger than 

 2 inches in diameter where the cions are set. 

 On some of the main branches it may be 

 necessary to graft side branches lower down 

 in order to fill the top and to afford footholds 

 to pickers and pruners. It will require from 

 three to four years to change over a tree in 

 full bearing to a new variety. Each 

 year a little more of the original top 

 is removed, and the cions take more 11 



and more of the space. Jj 



Grafting-wax is of many kinds, ff 

 but the most serviceable for apply- 

 ing with the hands in the open air 

 is made by melting together one 

 pound (by weight) of rendered tal- 

 low, two parts of beeswax and four 

 parts of resin. The melted liquid is 

 poured into a pail or tub of water, 

 when it immediately 

 hardens. It is then pulled 

 until it is light-colored 

 and develops a grain. 

 It is then put away for 

 future use, and will keep 

 indefinitely. When the 

 J^. 1 ' wax is used, the warmth 

 graft? of the hands will cause it 

 to soften. The hands 

 should be greased to prevent it 

 from sticking. 



For a softer wax, more tallow 

 may be used; or linseed oil may 

 be substituted, but because of 

 adulteration of the oil 

 the results are not always reliable. 



Alcoholic waxes, or plastics, are some- 

 times made, to be applied with a brush or 

 swab ; on application, the alcohol disappears 

 and the material hardens. A standard for- 

 mula (Lefort's) is: best white resin, one 

 pound; beef tallow, one ounce; melt, then 

 remove from fire and add eight ounces 

 alcohol. Keep in tightly closed bottles. 

 Sometimes a teaspoonful of turpentine is 

 added. 



Whip-grafting. 



Whip-grafting, or tongue-grafting, is em- 

 ployed in the nursery and on very small 

 stocks. It is not used in top-grafting 

 except now and then on small limbs. 

 The cion and stock should be of 

 approximately equal size. Each is 

 cut off in a slanting direction, and a 

 split or tongue is made near the 

 middle. The same shape is given to 

 cion and stock. The pictures sufficiently 

 illustrate how the work is done. (Figs. 

 1691-1693). The object of the tongue is to 

 1692. Whip- n ld the parts together securely; it also 

 graft, before presents more contact. The cion is then 

 waxing. bound to the stock, preferably by means of 



1694. Tree grown from a long-cion root-graft 

 The union is at D. 



waxed cord. If the graft is above ground, the wounds 

 should be thoroughly waxed over the string. If the 

 graft is bekny ground, the tie will be all that is neces- 

 sary: the moist earth packed around the wound will 

 prevent evaporation and protect it. 



The chief use of the whip-graft is in 

 root-grafting, which is employed largely 

 on apples and mostly at the West. In the 

 East, other things being equal, budded 

 apple trees are preferred to root-grafted 

 trees. In the West, however, it is neces- 

 sary to have apple trees on roots of known 

 hardiness. The seedling stocks are not of 

 known hardiness, even though the seeds 

 have come from the hardiest varieties. It 

 is therefore customary to use cions 6 to 

 12 inches long, grafted on pieces of roots 

 2 }4 to 4 inches long. (Fig. 1693.) The 

 graft is set so deep that only the top bud of 

 the cion projects above the surface. The 

 piece of root acts as a nurse, and roots 

 may start from the cion itself. (Fig. 

 1694.) When the tree is . transferred to 

 the orchard, the original root may be 

 cut off in case it is not very vigorous; 

 although this is not done if the union 

 seems to be good and the foster roots 

 are strong. This root-grafting is done 

 in winter (December and January pre- 

 ferred); the grafts are stored in clean 

 sawdust, sand or moss in a cool cellar, 

 and are set in nursery rows in the open 

 early in the spring, after the manner of 

 grape-cuttings. 



The waxed string, with which 

 the whip-grafts are tied, may be 

 made by dropping a ball of yarn 

 into melted grafting- wax. In five 

 minutes the wax will have pene- 

 trated the ball, but the strand 

 can readily be unwound. The best 

 material for this purpose is No. 

 18 knitting-cotton. This is strong 

 enough to hold the work together, 

 and yet weak enough so that it 

 may be broken in the hands with- 

 out cutting the fingers. It will 

 ordinarily decay during the year, 

 and thereby not interfere with the growth of the tree. 

 If the grafting is performed in a room at a living tem- 

 perature, the waxed string should be soft enough to 

 stick to the stock without being tied. Four or five 

 turns are made around the union. Waxed manilla 

 paper, cut in narrow strips, is also used; also single 

 strand cotton "chain" or warp-thread, either waxed 

 or not waxed. 



Any sharp knife with a handle large enough to be 

 grasped readily is useful for whip-grafting. The blade 

 should be thin, and the steel of best quality. The handle 

 should also be strong. Fig. 1695 shows a common form 

 of grafting-knife. Good shoe-knives may be used. This 

 and similar knives are in the market. A hone and whet- 

 stone should be near at hand, for the edge should be keen. 



1695. Grafting-knife. 



Veneer-grafting. 



This style of grafting, which is considerably used 

 under glass with fancy and ornamental plants, consists 

 in simply champering the sufaces of cion and stock 

 and applying the one to the other. (Fig. 1696.) The 

 cion is bound to the stock by raffia or other material. If 



