GRAFTING THE GRAPE. 



SHOULD our experimental ship- 

 ments prove that Wilder and Lind- 

 ley, Agawam andSalem, for exam- 

 ple, are varieties of grapes that 

 may be exported with profit to Great 

 Britain, and that such varieties as Wor- 

 den, Concord, Niagara and Brighton are 

 unsuitable for that market, it will be 

 necessary to graft over some of our 

 large vineyards to these varieties. With 

 this in view we give a simple method of 

 doing this work, given some time ago 

 by a writer in American Gardening. 



To prepare the stock, remove the 

 earth from six to eight inches in depth 



Fig. 1572. 

 Grape Grafting Saw (Wagners Patent). 

 around the vine. With a common 

 handsaw cut it off at a convenient knob 

 or knuckle, as shown at A in i lustration, 

 three to six inches below the surface of 

 the ground. Then cut a number of 

 kerfs diagonally across the knob with 

 the grafting saw. Be sure that every 

 kerf is entirely clean, and free from 

 chips, sawdust, etc. Now select a cion 

 to fit the kerf. If it has a crook or 

 angle like that shown at B, all the bet- 

 ter. Cut a thin piece from each side 

 directly below the middle bud. The 

 cut portion of the cion should fit snugly 

 into the kerf. Remove the bark from 

 back of cion, so that this part will ap- 

 pear as shown at C. Then press it into 

 the kerf, driving it snugly in place by a 

 light tap or two with the wooden 

 handle of the knife. Neither tying nor 

 waxing is required. We always like to 

 put a number of cions in each stock ; 

 the more we put in, indeed, the better 

 are our chances, although we care only 

 for one to make good growth. The 



Fig. 1573. 



cions after insertion appear as shown at 

 D. 



The covering of stock and grafts 

 should be done with great care, Pack 

 the earth well about the lower ends of 

 the cions, and between them and the 

 stock. Cover to top of cions, making a 

 broad hill. If a quantity of sawdust is 

 put on top, it will help to keep the soil 

 moist, loose and cool. Often the buds 

 start and then die down again. Usually 

 the secondary buds are the ones that 

 make the growth ; they start after the 

 first buds have given out. After the 

 cions have grown six or eight inches, 

 remove all canes starting from the 

 stock, but do not disturb any of the 

 first year's growth of the cion. The 

 second year, if too many cions grow, 

 cut off what you do not want. This 

 method has given excellent results all 

 through the grape districts of Western 

 New York. 

 144 



