Gmfting. 



GRAPE MANUAL. 



Grafting. 37 



Grafting-wax, such as is generally used for 

 tree and other grafting, cannot be recom- 

 mended for the grape, as the tallow and rosin 

 seem to have a deleterious influence. 



To complete the operation, replace the soil, 

 filling it up so that the upper bud on the scion 

 will be level with the surface. A shade placed 

 so as to protect it from the noondaj^ sun, or a 

 slight mulch, is very desirable. 



This method of grafting may also be em- 

 plo3^ed for small stocks ; when the stock is 

 nearly the same size as the scion a perfect 

 contact of the bark (liber) can be obtained 

 on both sides. (See Fig. 48.) 



Or two scions may also be inserted in a 

 stock of a little larger size (see Fig. 49). 



It can also be employed for grafting cut- 

 ting on cuttings (as figured in Fig. 50), though 

 for this, and in fact for all small stocks 

 grafted out of the ground, we would prefer 

 the WHIP-GRAFT, or, better yet, the "Cham- 

 piN-GRAKT," of which wc will speak later. 



Fisr. 48. 



Fig. 49. 



Fig. 50. 



Another mode of cleft-grafting, which 

 though a little more tedious, is perhaps also 

 that much more certain, is to saio a slit in the 

 stock a])out one and a half inches deep with 

 a thick-bladed or wide-set saw, instead of 

 using the chisel. The cleft thus made must 

 be spread open just sufficiently to receive the 

 scion, which must be cut to fit nicely in the 

 slit, with its upper portion resting, with a 

 square shoulder each side, on the stock. In 

 this instance we prefer to graft with two 

 buds, the lower one of which should be the 

 point where to cut the shoulders. In other 

 respects the same rules appl}^ to this mode as 

 those given before. The greatest advantage 

 is that we can always make a clean, straight 

 cleft, even when the stock is gnarly or twisted. 



As the slit cut by the saw is always of a 

 uniform thickness, the scions may be prepared 

 beforehand in the house during a rainy day 

 or in the evening, and kept in damp moss 

 until wanted. 



When grafting European grapes (Vinifera) 

 on American stock, to protect them from the 

 Phylloxera, it is important and essential to 

 guard against the graft of the Vinifera making 

 its own roots and finally severing its connec- 

 tion with the resistant stock, — a danger which 

 must be guarded against. To obviate this 

 the European graft should be placed as near 

 the level of the soil as possible, preferably 

 rather a little above than below. If placed 

 above the level of the ground it will be neces- 

 sar3% however, for the first season, or until a 

 perfect cohesion, healing over and growth has 

 taken place, to protect the graft from the dry- 

 ing influence of the air, by a firm, well-made 

 mound of earth placed around it, and made 

 high enough to extend to the upper bud of 

 the graft, even slightly covering the same. 

 In a region where the winters are not so se- 

 vere as to endanger the life of the European 

 grape, this mound may be gradually removed 

 entirely, in others it should be carefully 

 examined from time to time, and any roots 

 having formed from the graft should be cut 

 off and removed. 



We spoke before of the "whip-gkaft" 

 and the "Champin-graft" as being prefer- 

 able for small stocks or for cuttings grafted 

 upon cuttings. The ordinary whip-graft (the 

 greffe angJaise of the French) is well known 

 to our horticulturists, and, probably, to most 

 of our readers ; it is this graft which is most 

 generally employed by our nurserymen in the 

 propagation of all small fruit trees, in making 

 root-grafts, and it is especially convenient 

 for grafting in-doors, for the "graft on the 

 table" or for the "'graft by the hearth-stone," 

 as the French designate it. 



In France millions of this grape-graft are 



