Grafting the Vine. 



09 



GRAFTING THE VINE. 



KY JOHN J. WERTII. 



The importance of this mode of 

 propagating new varieties of grapes, 

 seems to me to require the adoption 

 of more precise rules for its practice 

 than have heretofore been observed. 

 The merely mechanical operation is 

 simply enough ; and quite enough has 

 been published to inform the readers 

 of horticultural books and essays how 

 to accomplish it. But the physiolog- 

 ical view of the subject is quite im- 

 portant, and has not received (within 

 m}' observation at least) sufficient at- 

 tention. I propose then, in a few 

 words, to lay down the axioms which 

 I have derived from analogy, obser- 

 vation and long practice in the art of 

 grafting the grape vine. 



First. I hold it to be essential that 

 we should select for the stock a vari- 

 ety of the same species as the graft 

 which we propose to insert. Xow 

 I do not mean to assert that a Vitis 

 Aestivalis grafted on a Vitis Labrusca 

 may not, often times, produce satis- 

 factorv results. I know it does. But 

 I do mean to sa}" that if the best 

 results are desired uniformly to follow 

 the transmutation, this axiom should 

 be uniformly observed. The natural 

 instincts and habits of these two fam- 

 ilies are so widely different, as mani- 

 fested in their wild state, that it is 

 obviously unreasonable that the best 

 results should follow a forced amalga- 

 mation in the first generation, and our 

 aim, in this operation, is limited to 

 the first fruits. 



Second. In the selection of the 

 stock, within the indicated family, it 



is very important that infirm mem- 

 bers, even of the desired family, 

 should be scrupulously avoided. We 

 should no more hope to secure strong, 

 healthy, full bearing vines, by graft- 

 ing even Hartford Prolific on Cataw- 

 ba or Diana, or Norton on Pauline, 

 (although the first axiom would be in 

 both cases strictly observed) than we 

 should rely upon healthy and robust 

 children from an infirm mothei', even 

 though the father was free from all 

 taint. Unfortunately in our own race 

 we have on all sides melancholy in- 

 stances of the penalty incurred by a 

 disregard of this rule. But still more 

 to the point ; no well informed father 

 commits his infant to the nourishment 

 of a wet nurse who is notoriously a 

 victim of scrofula in any of its vari- 

 ous forms. Then, reasoning by a 

 plain analogy, we should not commit 

 a healthy scion to the nourishment of 

 an infirm stock. 



Third. 1 think it advisable (though 

 I do not make this rule as rigid as the 

 two preceeding) that regard should 

 be had, within reasonable limits, to the 

 natural stature and development of the 

 two varieties selected for the union. 

 AThile it may be well to infuse more 

 vigor into the growth which is to be 

 developed from the graft, if it comes 

 from a weakl}' growing variety, b}' 

 inserting it into a stock of somewhat 

 stronger growth, I would avoid a 

 union between two extremes. For 

 instance, 1 would not graft the Crevel- 

 ing on the North Carolina, an enor- 

 mous grower, if I had stock of 



