164- 



When the scions are put in place cover 

 every portion of the cut surface of scion 

 and limb with grafting wax, so as to ex- 

 clude rain and the drying effect of the air. 



Two scions are usually inserted as 

 giving two chances of success, and also 

 to help heal the wound, though usually 

 only one graft is eventually wanted. 



Rind Graft. 



Cleft grafting is the method of regraft- 

 ing chiefly adopted in Canada. In Kent 

 what is known as "crown grafting " is 

 more usual; the branch is headed off and 

 the stock is slit through the bark in one 

 or more places and one or more scions 

 insei'ted, carefully fitted, then the stock 

 is tied round firmly with bast to hold the 

 grafts in position, and the whole is covered 

 with grafting clay or wax as described in 

 cleft grafting. 



In Worcestershire men skilled at graft- 

 ing come round to the farmers and do any 

 grafting required. The arrangement used 

 to be that they should be paid Id. for each 

 successful graft, after waiting to see 

 results. 



Saddle Graft. 



Probably the most perfect form of graft- 

 ing is the saddle graft, applicable to small 

 wood and also to stocks of large diameter. 

 In this case a tongue is made to cross over 

 the stock to link it with the cambium on 

 the farther side, as well as the portion in- 

 serted between the bark and the wood. 



This method takes a little longer than 

 ordinary whip grafting. As to the time 

 taken for grafting, the foreman on Mr. 

 Hugh Mumford's " Three Springs Farm" 

 at Pershore can graft 100 apple stocks in 

 one hour, with a man tying after him and 

 a boy following putting on clay. Plums 

 take a little longer than apples — 60 per 

 hour, 99 per cent, taking. 



In recent years many trees of Cox's 

 Orange Pippin and other varieties found 

 unsuitable have been successfully re- 

 grafted with Bramley or Newton Wonder, 

 and unsuitable pears with Conference or 

 Hessle. I know of one excellent cherry 

 orchard where many of the trees were re- 

 grafted. Some plums will regraft, but in 

 stone fruit there is liability of starting 

 " gumming." 



Damsons and a few varieties of plums 

 are benefited by severe heading back of 

 the branches, say every ten years, which 

 renders them far more fruitful. 



Young nursery fruit stock is propagated 

 by whip grafting or by budding, the 

 methods of which are described in almost 

 every book on gardening, so I will not 

 give further space to it here, but will add 

 that, from what I have seen, very few fruit 

 growers raise as good young trees as 

 nurserymen do; also, that the knowledge 

 of the most suitable stock for a variety 

 needs to be known, or a mistake may be 

 made which wastes time and money in the 

 formation of the plantation. 



