go THE NURSERY-BOOK. 



branches or made of a section of a branch. The union should 



be bound snugly with raffia, and the plant set in a propagating 



frame, where it must be kept close for a few days. 



It is not necessary, in most cases, to use wax, and 



upon some tender stocks the wax is injurious. 



Moss may be bound about the graft, but unless the 



union is first thoroughly covered by the bandage, 



roots will start into the moss and the parts will fail 



to unite. The growing shoots of shrubs and trees 



can also be grafted, but the operation is rarely 



employed. In various coniferous trees {as pines 



and spruces) the young shoots are sometimes clefjt 



or saddle-grafted in May, the parts being well 



bandaged with waxed muslin or raffia, and shaded 



with paper bags. The walnut and some other 



trees which do not work readily are sometimes 



treated in this manner. 



A little known species of herbaceous-grafting is 

 the joining of parts of fruits. It is easily per- 

 formed upon all fleshy fruits, like tomatoes, apples, 



squashes and cucumbers. When the fruit is half 



* ... Fig. 86. Bark- 



or more grown, one-half is cut away and a similar ra ftj n 



half from another fruit is applied Better results 

 follow if the severed side of the parent or stock fruit is hol- 

 lowed out a little, so as to let the foreign piece set into the 

 cavity. The edges of the epidermis of the stock are then tied up 

 closely against the cion by means of bass or raffia. The two 

 parts are securely tied together, but no wax is required. This 

 operation succeeds best under glass, where conditions are uni- 

 form and winds do not blow the fruits about. 



Even leaves may be used as stocks or cions. Any such suc- 

 culent and permanent leaves as those of the house-leeks, crassula, 

 and the like may have young shoots worked upon them, and 

 leaves which are used as cuttings can often be made to grow on 

 other plants. 



SEED-GRAFTING. A novel kind of grafting has been described 

 in France by Pieron, which consists in using a seed as a cion. 



