GRAFTAGE. 



77 



joined in Figs. 70 and 71. The parts are held firmly by a 

 bandage passed five or six times around them. If the graft is to 

 stand above ground, the wound must be protected by 

 applying wax over the bandage. (Recipes for wax 

 can be found at the end of this chapter.) 



Root-grafting, especially of fruit stocks, is performed 

 almost entirely by the whip-graft. This operation is 

 performed in winter. The stocks, either one or two 

 years old, are dug and stored in the fall. In January 

 or February the grafting is begun. In true root- 

 grafting, only pieces of roots are used, but some pre- 

 fer to use the whole root and graft at the crown. In 

 piece-root-grafting, from two to four trees are made 

 from a single root. A piece of root from two to four 

 inches long is used, as shown in Fig. 71. The 

 parts are usually held by winding with waxed 



graft. string or waxed bands. The string should be 

 strong enough to hold the parts securely and 

 yet weak enough to be broken without hurting the 

 hands. No. 18 knitting cotton answers this purpose 

 admirably. It should be bought in balls, which are 

 allowed to stand for a few minutes in melted wax. The 

 wax soon saturates the ball. Waxed bands are made 

 by spreading melted wax over thin muslin, which is 

 cut into narrow strips when dry. The string is the 

 more useful for rapid work. The grafts are packed 

 away in sand, moss or sawdust in a cool cellar until 

 spring, when the two parts will be firmly callused to- 

 gether. Some propagators are now discarding all tying 

 of root-grafts. The grafts are packed away snugly, and 

 if the storage cellar is cool not above 40 they will 

 knit together so that they can be planted without danger 

 of breaking apart. If the cellar is warm the grafts Fig- 7. 

 will start into growth and be lost. Whip- 



Cions are cut in fall or winter, or any time before the pos j t i on 

 buds swell in spring. Only the previous year's growth 

 is used in all ordinary cases, but in maples and some other trees 



