22 GRAFTING 



labour under no such disability. Cytisus scoparius var. Andreanus again, 

 and other varieties of common broom that do not come true from seed, 

 are often short-lived when raised from cuttings, due to the formation 

 of an imperfect callus at the base, which leaves the centre of the stem 

 not entirely sealed over and subject to decay. In their case, grafting 

 low down on young seedling laburnums has no disadvantages that I anv 

 aware of. In the case of trees and shrubs which do not produce seed in 

 this country and cannot readily be increased by cuttings or layers, 

 grafting has to be resorted to. In very many instances grafted trees thrive 

 well and are long-lived, although not so much so as seedlings. I know 

 grafted oaks, for instance, that must be 100 years old, in perfect 

 health and vigour. There is nothing to be said against the grafting 

 of such trees as weeping beech, weeping ash, fastigiate oaks, or, indeed, 

 any garden form that does not reproduce itself by seed, if it be done on 

 their respective types. The identical nature of stock and scion makes 

 a perfect union possible. On the whole, it may be said that grafting, 

 with the allied processes of inarching and budding, is often a valuable, 

 sometimes an indispensable, resource, but that nurserymen resort to 

 it much too readily, thereby bringing it into disrepute. Attempts should 

 always be made to get a tree or shrub on its own roots first ; it is when 

 those fail that grafting should be resorted to. 



There are various modes of grafting, but they all have one principle in 

 common. This is that the inner bark (or cambium) of stock and that 

 of scion should be placed in contact. Roughly speaking, the stem of 

 an exogenous plant consists of four parts : in the centre is the pith, then 

 comes the wood, then the cambium, lastly the true bark. So far as 

 grafting (also the formation of roots in cuttings) is concerned, the whole 

 matter centres in the cambium, which is composed of active growing or 

 formative cells. The most perfect grafting is where the cut surfaces of 

 stock and scion are so arranged that the greatest amount of each set of 

 cambium is brought in contact with the other, and kept there until a 

 union is formed. The other parts do not matter. 



It is not appropriate here to discuss the various methods of grafting. 

 When once the underlying principle is understood the success of the 

 operation is dependent as much on practice and deftness of hand as 

 anything. Professional propagators in nurseries have a very small 

 percentage of failures compared with the fumbling beginner. The opera- 

 tion is really delicate joinery. What is termed "whip-grafting" is the 

 simplest and commonest method; in this a long slanting cut is made 

 on the stock, a similar one is then made of the scion; the two cut 

 surfaces are then placed together, taking care that the inner barks, on 

 both sides if possible, but certainly on one, are coincident. In this 

 position the two are firmly tied together with bast and the whole is 



