56 



cross bred seed of the Bigarreau and Wliite Heart.— 

 This process has been carried to an ahnost iinhmited 

 extent with flowers. 



Grafting and Budding. — Having obtained a vahia- 

 ble variety of fruity it becomes desirable to propagate 

 it, but as this cannot be done by sowing the seeds, we 

 are oblio-ed to resort to some other methods. Those 

 usually practised are grafting and budding. There 

 are several ways of performing the former, usually 

 called, cleft, splice, tongue and saddle grafting. 



The best time for grafting is when the buds begin 

 to swell, say from the first of April to the first of 

 June. Stone fruit should be grafted a little earlier, 

 as the bark is inclined to peel and roll vfhen the wood 

 is growing. Some recommend that grafts be inserted 

 into the cherry and plum, while the frost is in the 

 ground." Budding is more successful than grafting 

 with stone fruit. Scions for stone fruit should not be 

 kept long before setting. Scions for other kinds of 

 fruit may be cut any time during winter, or in the 

 spring before the buds swell. They should be closely 

 packed in saw-dust and put a way in some dark, cool 

 place. Care should be taken that they are not ke])t 

 too damp, as it causes premature groAtth, or spoils 

 them by satm^ation. 



Grafting Wax. — Take two pounds beeswax and four 

 pounds good rosin, and melt them together; then add 

 one pound good beef tallow and mix the whole thor- 

 oughly. Turn the composition into a tub of watei' 

 to cool it sufiiciently so that it may be v^'orked. Pull 

 it until it presents a light color, ilnother wax may 

 be made by mi^:ing one pint linseed oil, one pound 

 beeswax, and six pounds of ftesin, and pursuing the 

 course as above directed. 



Grafting Clay. — This is made l^y mixing iwo parts 

 of good blue ch\y with one part of fresh horse-dung, 

 addiiig a little hair as in mortar. It is sometimes 

 necessary to add a \^r\ small portion of sand. It 



