GRAFTAGE. 



79 



formly moist soil. Some varieties of fruit trees are found 



in practice to root more readily than others. 



There is much discussion as 

 to the relative merits of bud- 

 ding and root-grafting fruit- 

 stocks, but the observations are 

 usually so indefinite or irrele- 

 vant that safe conclusions can- 

 not be drawn from them. We 

 have seen that root-grafting 

 serves an indispensable pur- 

 pose in the cold prairie regions 

 by enabling nurserymen to 

 secure own-rooted trees of 

 known hardiness. Aside from 

 this it may be said that root- 

 grafting is cheaper than bud- 

 ding, as it is performed when 

 labor is cheap and two or more 

 trees are made from one stock. 

 ">udded or crown-grafted trees 

 possess a greater root and 

 isually make a stronger 

 growth, at least the first year 

 or two, and it has been said 

 that their roots are more 

 numerous and more symmet- 

 rically disposed. But there is 

 not yet a sufficient knowledge 

 of the subject in all its details 

 to allow of dogmatic expres- 

 sions upon it. 



S A D D L E-GRAFTING. S a d - 

 die-grafting i s a simple and 

 useful method for the shoots 

 of small, growing plants. The 

 Fig. 72. Growing Root-graft. stock is cut to a wedge-shaped 



