166 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. 



what with the different plants; (3) in getting a perfect union 

 of the inner bark of cion and stock at least on one side; (4) 

 in making all the cuts with a sharp knife, that the parts in 

 contact may have a smooth surface; (5) in doing the work 

 rapidly, so that the surface may not be exposed. 



Grafting wax is generally used for covering the wounds 

 made in some kinds of grafting. A good grafting wax is one 

 that will not become too soft in summer, so as to melt and run 

 down the stock, or so hard in winter as to crack and split off. 

 A very reliable grafting wax is made by melting together resin, 

 four (4) parts, by weight; beeswax, two (2) parts; tallow, one 

 (1) part. When well melted, pour into a pail of cold water, 

 grease the hands slightly and pull the wax until it is about the 

 color of pulled molasses candy. Make into balls and store for 

 use. This wax should be warmed when applied. If it is too 

 hard, more tallow and less resin may be used. Some propaga- 

 tors use linseed oil instead of tallow. The linseed oil should 

 be pure. If adulterated with cottonseed oil, the wax becomes 

 very stringy and difficult to handle. 



Clay is frequently used for covering wounds made by graft- 

 ing, and it gives quite as good results as any of the waxes, if 

 properly applied, but is not so convenient. For this purpose 

 some very tenacious clay should be used, and it is thought to 

 be improved when mixed with about one-third fresh cow dung 

 and a little plasterer's hair. The whole mass should be thor- 

 oughly worked over and kneaded before using. 



Cleft grafting is very common and more universally known 

 and used than any other. It is commonly performed to change 

 the variety of apple, plum and various other trees and plants. 

 It is generally the most practical method to use on branches 

 one or two inches in diameter or larger, but it also works well 

 on small stocks. 



Cleft grafting is performed as follows: The place selected 

 for the insertion of the cion should be where the grain of 

 the wood is straight. The stock is then cut square off with a 

 sharp saw and is split through its center, with the grafting 

 chisel, to a depth sufficient to allow the cion to be put in place 

 The cleft is held open by the grafting chisel until the cion 



