132 PRACTICAL PLANT PROPAGATION 



TOP GRAFTING AND DOUBLE WORKING 



Trees of an undesirable variety, even when old, can be grafted 

 at various points in the top. It should take three or four years to 

 work over a whole tree, certain branches being chosen each year. 

 The younger the tree, the easier and more wuickly it can be worked. 

 Sometimes the cions are easily blown out while still small. To 

 avoid this strap a supporting stick along each branch and cion. 



Cleft grafting is mainly used in this work. It must always be 

 remembered that the cions will grow straight up; the clefts must, 

 therefore, be made horizontal rather than vertical. Cut back the 

 growing cion to make it branch instead of letting it become long 

 and willowy. 



In some cases varieties which make poor growth or are sus- 

 ceptible to decay at the soil line are double worked; in other words, 

 some strong variety is root grafted on a stock, then later the second 

 variety is cleft grafted on the strong stock. 



Pears. Bosc, Dix, Dinsmore, Josephine de Malines, Marie 

 Louise, Paradise, Shelden, Washington, Winter Nelis and some 

 other Pears do not graft readily on the Quince. A strong growing 

 sort, such as Duchesse d'Angouleme, Vicar of Wakefield or Diel 

 is used upon the Quince; then the other varieties are budded a few 

 inches above the graft. 



Apples. The Tompkins King, Grimes Golden and some other 

 varieties are best top worked upon the Northern Spy. 



CACTUS GRAFTING 



Some Cacti are grafted to cause earlier flowering. To increase 

 the decorative appearance of certain trailing sorts such as the 

 Epiphyllum, or Christmas Cactus, they are placed upon upright 

 growers such as Pereskia and Cereus. Furthermore, when plants 

 become so decayed at their roots that cuttings are difficult to 

 obtain, the small tip may be grafted upon a vigorous stock. 



Cleft (see fig. 78), saddle and splice (see fig. 59) grafts are the 

 most used. Each method gives a good area for the union of the 

 parts. In preparing the stock for the cleft graft, the clefts are 

 cut V-shaped, rather then split, and the cions should be trimmed 

 wedge-shaped to fit the cleft. As the sticky sap of the Cactus 

 allows the cion to slip from the stock readily, a spine from an 

 Opuntia or a Pereskia is frequently used to pin the two together. 

 Wm. G. Becker of the New Yoek Botanical Garden believes that 

 grafts made indoors are benefited if waxed by having ordinary 

 candle wax dropped on the cut surfaces. 



