68 THE GRAPE CULTURIST. 



done if it had not been grafted ; besides, the operation can 

 be performed at -a season when there is usually not so much 

 business as in spring, and it requires no more skill in its 

 performance than other modes of grafting. It can also be 

 performed at any time during the winter, provided the 

 ground is not frozen. But I prefer early in fall, as in that 

 case there is more time for the union to take place ; be- 

 sides, the sap in the roots of the vine remains longer in 

 the fluid state in the fall than in the top, as may be seen 

 by examining the roots after the leaves have fallen, and 

 when no sap is observable in the branches. This is owing 

 to the fact that roots, in a great measure, are out of reach 

 of the frost, which has checked the flow of sap in that por- 

 tion of the vine above ground. All the roots of the vine 

 are seldom in a perfectly dormant state, consequently the 

 sap is always ready to flow upward into the branches 

 whenever they are not frozen. The vine, as well as nearly 

 ah 1 woody plants, continues to expand its buds during the 

 winter months. And if there were no such action as this, 

 then there would be no production of new fibers and cal- 

 losities, which every practical horticulturist must have 

 observed as taking place, especially upon the roots of trees 

 and plants that have been transplanted in the fall. These 

 facts led me to try the grafting of the grape early in the 

 fall, and the results have been all that I could wish ; for 

 when the grafts have been properly inserted, I have found 

 them in the spring, without an exception, to be firmly 

 united to the stock. 



When the grafts have made one season's growth they 

 may be cut down and used for grafts or cuttings, or they 

 may be layered. If sprouts should come up from the stock 

 they should be immediately removed, as they would rob 

 the graft of nourishment. 



When there is a scarcity of stocks for grafting, an old 

 vine may be layered, as shown in Fig. 19, and instead of 

 taking up the layers the young canes may be grafted in 



