118 THE PRACTICAL GARDEN -BOOK 



ding or whip-grafting may be employed. On an old top the 

 cions should begin to bear when three to four years old. 

 All the main limbs should be grafted. It is important to 

 keep down the suckers or water- sprouts from around the 

 grafts, and part of the remaining top should be cut away 

 each year until the top is entirely changed over (which will 

 result in two to four years). 



A good wax for covering the exposed parts is made as 

 follows: Eesin, 4 parts by weight; beeswax, 2 parts; tal- 

 low, 1 part. In making the wax, the materials are first 

 broken up and melted together. When thoroughly melted 

 the liquid is poured into a pail or tub of cold water. It soon 

 becomes hard enough to handle, and it is then pulled and 

 worked over until it becomes tough or "gets a grain," at 

 which stage it becomes the color of very light-colored 

 manilla paper. When wax is applied by hand, the hands 

 must be well greased. Hard cake tallow is the best ma- 

 terial for this purpose. In top-grafting large trees, it is 

 well to carry a supply of tallow when waxing, by smearing 

 the backs of the hands before entering the tree. 



Grape. One of the surest of fruit crops is 



the Grape, a crop each year being reasonably certain after 

 the third year from the time of setting the vines. The 

 Grape does well on any soil that is under good cultivation 

 and well drained. A soil with considerable clay is better 

 under these circumstances than a light, sandy loam. The 

 exposure should be to the sun ; and the place should admit 

 of cultivation on all sides. One- or 2-year-old vines should 

 be planted, either in the fall or early spring. At planting 

 the vine is cut back to 3 or 4 eyes, and the roots are well 

 shortened in. The hole in which the plant is to be set 

 should be large enough to allow a full spreading of the 

 roots. Fine soil should be worked around the roots and 

 firmed with the feet. If the season should be dry, a mulch 

 of coarse litter may be spread around the vine. If all the 

 buds start, the strongest one or two may be allowed to grow. 



