BUDDING AND GRAFTING. 



119 



FIG. 9~.Vross-section through a graft 

 cleft and scion in place. 



this limit it is very convenient. It is much used by nurserymen in 

 root-grafting apple, pear and plum seedlings. It is done to a large 

 extent during the winter months, when but very little can be 

 accomplished out of doors. It is performed as follows : 



Root-Grafting. Seedlings which are dug in autumn and 



packed in moss or saw- 

 dust in a cold cellar, 

 are taken as needed to 

 a warm room and the 

 scions grafted upon 

 them just below the col- 

 lar, i. e., the place 

 where root and top are 

 joined. The kind of 

 f?raftmade is illustrat- 

 ed in Fig. 101, which 

 shows the successive 

 stages of the work. A 

 shows a seedling apple 

 root with top removed, 

 which is to be cut off 

 and grafted at the cross 

 shows scion ; G 

 scion and stock pre- 

 pared for being united, but with the cut held open. This cut is 

 made by the knife-blade, and no wood is removed from it. Z>, the 

 same united. E, the union wrapped with a strip of paper or cloth 

 which has previously been covered with 

 grafting wax. Some prefer waxed string 

 for this covering. The grafts should be 

 about eight inches long. When completed 

 they should be tied in bundles and put 

 away, packed very firmly in sand or light 

 soil, in a cold cellar. Early in the spring 

 they should be planted in the nursery, 

 about six inches apart, in rows three feet 

 apart, setting all but the upper bud of the 

 scion below the surface of the ground. It 

 is important to plant the scion deep so as 

 to encourage it to throw ut roots, as the 

 trees are then more hardy than when they 

 depend entirely on the seedling root for 

 support. Great care should be taken to 

 have the soil very firm and solid around the base of the root and at 

 the union. This may be secured in several ways. Some nursery- 

 men attain this end by the use of a large dibber, having a guard on 

 the side to prevent its going too deep. With this a hole is made 

 sufficiently wide and deep to permit the insertion of the graft 



FIG. 98. Perspective 

 vieiv of scion and com- 

 pleted graft. 



