FARMERS' REGISTER— GRAFTING FRUIT TREES. 



607 



{jrew in scanty pittance, I have discovered a luxvi- 

 riant srrowth of clover, and more luxuriant corn. 

 It is not for me, merely from ol;servation, to de- 

 scribe t!ie increased value, fertility and jiroduct of 

 land in this section of the country. The cITett is 

 evident ; nor is the cause occult. This discovery 

 cannot he too highly appre. iated iiy the atjricultu- 

 ral community. From what has i een accomplish- 

 ed, may we not jjromise ourselves that at some 

 distant day, here a<j;riculture nray he seen flourish- 

 ing: in her prime, and tlie e.irti) yielding her most 

 abundant crop.' In conclusion, 1 must say to you 

 and your correspondents, go on in the laudable ef- 

 fort you have undertaken ; rousi^ the energies, anl 

 support the interest of aa:ricuUure : let the Regis- 

 ter become the depository of useful knowledge, 

 from which may be abstracted a proper system o( 

 husbandry. This may be done by the combined 

 efforts of the flirmers of Virginia, and selections 

 from oilier journals ; and a nation's gratitude shall 

 be your reward. 



R. H. 



ON GRAFTING FRUIT TREES. 



To the Editor of the B'armers' Reirislcr. 



" Nee inodus insercs ainue oculos impnnere semp/ex.'" 



Though a mere tyro in the various and nume- 

 rous dej)artments of agriculture, I have ventured 

 to place at your disposal, a lew suggestions on the 

 mode of grafting fruit trees. It is performed 

 seven or eight different ways ; a just idea of which 

 may be sufiicient at first; and I may reserve for 

 the practical part, a particular detail of each pre- 

 caution necessary to be oiiserved. 



The most ancient manner of grafting is perform- 

 ed, first, by lopping off all the head of a tree, or 

 only one of its main branches ; secondly, by 

 cleaving the stock with a strong knife, v. hich might 

 be driven in with a mallet; thirdly, by opening 

 the cleft to some depth f;y means of a wedge ; and 

 lastly, by inserting into the stock, a firanch cut 

 from a tree of a kindly nature, and impregnated 

 with at least three good buds, w Inch are so many 

 knots or humors, each of which enfi)lds a little 

 packet of leaves. The extremity of the graft 

 should be cut smooth and even on both sides; after 

 which, it ought to be placed in the cleft, in such a 

 manner, that the bark of one of its sides, at least, 

 may exactly coincide with the bark of tlie stock 

 that receives it. Thisdisjx^sition is absolutely ne- 

 cessary, because the incorporation of the graft with 

 the stock, is accomplished by the mutual union of 

 their fine barks. This bark is composed of seve- 

 ral thin rhinds or films drawn in circles over each 

 other; and the first round is disengaged from the 

 rest, at which time it swells into a more substan- 

 tial texture, and forms the new circle of wood, or 

 alburnum, which is annually acquired by the tree. 

 The fibres that constitute the inward rhind of the 

 fine bark, are cut in those parts where the stock 

 and stem are joined, the orifices of the one, open- 

 ing into those of the other; in consequence of 

 which, the callous substance which is there formed, 

 unites several canals of the trunk, with those of the 

 graft. Other canals are inter\voven with each 

 other, and the two films, so different in their na- 

 tures, are consolidated into one substance. Eut 

 when this conjunction is not accomplished under 

 the fine texture of rhind, it must never he expect- 



ed, either in the wood already formed, and which 

 then ceases to be supple, or in the gross bark, 

 whi' h is altogether as unpiiant as the wood. "When 

 tlic insertion is completed, it should 1 e covered 

 with chips of lark, in such a manner as to exclude 

 all pcnel rations from without. This covering of 

 1 ark should \ c coate i over with a com])Osition of 

 wax and pitch melted together ; or a mixture of 

 clay with a small quantity of strav.^ ; and the whole 

 shoidd be swathed over with cloth, to prevent the 

 admission of raiiis and parching air. This is called 

 grafting in a cleft. 



The first cleft may be crossed by a second, in 

 order to insert four scions instead of one, but care 

 must be taken to unite the bark of the scion, with 

 that of the stock. This is called cross -graft ins:, 

 l)Ut the vindus operandi is the same as the other. 



If the trunk be too thick, so as to create jiist ap- 

 prehensions of its being too much shocked by 

 opening a cleft, the surrounding bark must then be 

 separated from the wood in several parts, by the 

 insertion of a small w^edge ; after which, wc may 

 sink into the opened circumference eight or ten 

 grafts, each of w hich should have four or five good 

 buds, and their extremities are to be shaped or 

 flatted in such a manner, as will best adapt them 

 to their several ai)ertures. The whole must be 

 covered over like the grafting cleft, and this is 

 called grafting in the rliind. 



Sometunes instead of inserting the scions into a 

 cleft, or between the wood and 1 ark of large 

 stocks, an incision of some deplli is made with a 

 joiner's chisel into the bark, and likewise in the 

 wood; and when the piece is taken out. the end of 

 the graft must be exactly adjusted to the cavity, 

 by w hi( h means tlie two liarks acquire an intimate 

 conjunction ; and this is called whip-grafting. 



The fifth manner of grafting is more generally 

 practised upon stone fruits; and this operation is 

 peribrmed by cutting from a good tree, a small tri- 

 angular piece of the bark, whose length must a 

 little exceed its breadth, and in the middle of 

 which, the first appearance of a Iranch, with the 

 traces of one or two l.uds should be seen. In par- 

 ing off this bark, it is usual to slide tlie blade of 

 the pruning-khife under it, in order to cut the lit 

 lie knot, if that should be necessary, together with 

 a small quantily of the wood ; not that this last can 

 f;e of any advantage in causing the gralt to take; 

 but this jrrecaution is used to prevent any hazard 

 of missing the knot, and we may i e certain it is 

 secure, when it adheres to the i ark, but if it 

 should be separated from it, no bud will be found. 

 This knot is the w hole future tree in parvo. The 

 person employed in this o'peration, holds the trian- 

 gular bark in his moulh, by the extremity of the 

 liltle branch, lo prevent the saliva from being de- 

 trimental to the sap ; and al the same instant, makes 

 an incision in the form of a T,in some smooth 

 part of the Avild stock or tree, that is to be melio- 

 rated ; after which he raises and removes the lips 

 of tlie upper aperture, and then slips in the trian- 

 gidar bark, causing its longest \vnnt to descend 

 till it ari-ives at the bottom of the T, and is covered 

 in every pari, except the bud, w hich is suffered to 

 project outward. Some persons, I believe, have 

 made successful attcmi)ts to inoculate in another 

 manner: They apply the triangular bark of a 

 kindly nature, to tlie bark of a wild stock, and cut 

 in this latter, another triangular plug of the same 

 dimensions with the other; after which they raise 



