GRAFTING 



117 



^left-graft 



a year from the planting of the seed, the stock is cut off 

 just above the bud (which is inserted near the ground), and 

 in the fall of that year the tree is ready for sale ; that 

 is, the top is one season old and the root is two seasons 

 old, but in the trade it is known as a 1 -year-old 

 tree. In apples and pears the stock is usually two 

 years old before it is budded, and the tree is not sold 

 until the top has grown two or three years. Budding 

 may be performed also in the spring, in which case the 

 bud will grow the same season. Budding is always 

 done in young branches, preferably in those not more 

 than one year old. 



Grafting is the insertion of a small branch 

 (or cion), usually bearing more than one bud. If 

 Grafting is done on small stocks, it is customary wh 'P- raft 

 to employ the whip -graft, which is illustrated in the 

 margin. Both stock and cion are cut across diagon- 

 ally, and a split made in each, so that one fits into the 

 other. The graft is tied securely with a string, and 

 then, if it is above ground, it is also waxed carefully. 

 In larger limbs or stocks, the common method is to 

 employ the cleft-graft. This consists in cutting off the 

 stock, splitting it and inserting a wedge-shaped cion 

 in one or both sides of the split, taking care that 

 the cambium layer of the cion matches that of 

 the stock. The exposed surfaces are then se- 

 curely covered with wax. Grafting is usually performed 

 early in the spring, just before the buds swell. The 

 cions should have been cut before this time, when they 

 were perfectly dormant. Cions may be stored in sand 

 in the cellar or in the ice house, or they may be 

 buried in the field. The object is to keep them fresh 

 and dormant until they are wanted. 



If it is desired to change the top of an old plum, 

 apple or pear tree to some other variety, it is usually done 

 by means of the cleft-graft. If the tree is very young, bud- 



a Cactus 



