CRAFTA GE. 



87 



Fig. 82. Grafting-mallet. 



usually moistened by dipping into a pail of water and are carried 

 in a high side-pocket in the jacket. The handiest mallet is a 

 ( \ simple club or billy, a foot and a half 



long, hung over the wrist by a loose 

 soft cord (Fig 82). This is brought 

 into the palm of the hand by a swing- 

 ing motion of the forearm. This mal- 

 let is always in place, never drops from 

 the tree, and is not in the way. The 

 knife shown in Fig. 79 is commonly 

 used. A downward stroke of the mal- 

 let drives the knife into the tree and an 

 upward motion immediately following 

 strikes the knife on the outer end and 

 removes it. Another downward motion 

 drives in the wedge. The sharpened 

 nails and sticks commonly pictured as 

 wedges in cleft-grafting are useless for any serious work. And 

 the common style of grafting knife sold by seedsmen, compris- 

 ing a thin, broad blade set in a heavy back piece, is also worth- 

 less. The blade is too thin to split the stub. The various 

 combined implements which have been devised to facilitate cleft- 

 grafting are usually impracticable in serious operations. A very 

 good grafting-knife for small stocks or trees in nursery row is 

 shown in Fig. 83. This is the Thomas knife. The larger arm 

 is made entirely of wood. At its upper end is a grooved portion 

 into which the blade closes. This blade can be made from the 

 blade of a steel case-knife, and it should be about two and a 

 half inches long. It is secured to an iron handle. The essen- 

 tial feature of this implement is the draw cut which is secured 

 by setting the blades and the pivot in just the positions shown in 

 the figure. The stock is cut off by the shears, and the cleft is 

 then made by turning the shears up and making a vertical cut. 

 The cleft is therefore cut instead of split, insuring a tight fit of 

 the cions. This tool is particularly useful upon hard and 

 crooked-grained stocks. 



Cleft-grafting is often employed for other purposes than the 



