8 



THE TREE PROPAGATOR AND PLANTER. 



The grafting may be done by the common whip 

 method ; or if the stem is large enough, rind-grafting 

 may be adopted. In all cases of grafting I think the 

 grafting- wax is the best preservative against droughts. 

 This is put on with a small painter's brush when half 

 cold, or just thin enough to paint upon the tied- in 

 graft. If ordinary grafting-clay is used it will dry and 

 crack, and let in the air, when probably the operation 

 will prove a failure. As soon as the graft has grown 



and made a shoot it should 

 be cut back close, so as to 

 induce as many shoots as 

 possible to form close to the 

 crown, and when these are 

 considerable in number, and 

 have made a foot or two of 

 growth, tie a string to each 

 leader and gently bend them 

 down, and tie each string 

 to the stem (Fig. 5). The 

 Weeping Ash should be 

 planted in deep and good 

 ground if a luxuriant spe- 

 cimen is desired. It is use- 

 less to expect a fine and 

 free-growing tree unless 

 this is done ; and the plant 

 should be placed where it is 

 to remain for life not later 

 than three years from the time of grafting on the 

 stock. 



Soon after maturity the Ash begins to decay. This 

 commences at the surface of the ground, or just below 

 it, and the tree decays upwards. Whenever the wood- 

 pecker is found to have made a hole in the stem of an 

 Ash-tree (which it frequently does), be sure that tree is 

 worthless in the interior, notwithstanding it is, to all 

 outward appearances, healthy and sound. 



The timber is most useful for dry work, but useless 

 for outdoor work, and soon decays if exposed to the 



Fig. 5. — The Weeping Ash, 

 two years grafted. 



