Graftincj. 



GRAPE MANUAL. 



Grafting. 41 



dated in the course of six to eight weeks, 

 when the bandages may be removed and the 

 grafted portion left exposed to the sun, to 

 thoroughly harden and ripen it. The shoots 

 themselves are to be left to grow undisturbed 

 for the rest of the season. In the fall, if a good 

 union has taken place, the cane forming the 

 scion is cut close below its union with the 

 stock cane, which in its turn is cut close 

 above the connection. Supposing the stock 

 to have been a Concord and scion a Dela- 

 ware, we now have a vine of the latter en- 

 tirely on the strong, vigorous root of the 

 former. Of course constant vigilance must 

 be exercised to prevent suckers from start- 

 ing out of the stock. It is well to protect 

 the grafted joint the first few winters by a 

 slight covering of straw or soil to prevent 

 the frost from spliting it apart. 



Another mode of grafting 

 above ground (copied from "The 

 Gardner's Monthly" by W. C. 

 Strong in his valuable work, 

 "The Cultivation of the Grape" ) 

 is not merely interesting in 

 itself, but also illustrative of 

 many other modifications in 

 grafting: (See Fig. 61.) 



"After the first four or five 

 leaves are formed, and the sap 

 is flowing, you choose the place 

 on the vine where you intend 

 to graft. At that point wrap 

 a twine tightly several times 

 around the vine. This will, in 

 a measure, prevent the return 

 sap. 



Below the ligature make a 

 sloping cut down, as shown 

 at a; also, a similar reversed 

 one above the ligature, as at &, about one 

 inch in length. In selecting a scion prefer 

 one that has naturally a bend. Cut it so 

 that it shall be wedge-shape at both ends, and 

 a little longer than the distance between the 

 cuts in the vine at a and b. Insert the scion, 

 taking care to have the barks in direct con- 

 tact, securing it with a string, c, bound round 

 both scion and vine sufficiently tight to force 

 the scion-ends into their places. If the work 

 is done well, no tie will be required at a and 

 6, but the joints shoiild be covered with 

 grafting wax. In a short time, the bud at d 

 will commence its growth, after which you 

 can, by degrees, remove all the growing 

 shoots not belonging to the scion, and in 

 course of the summer you may cut off the 

 wood above b, and in the fall remove all 

 above a on the stock and above c on the 

 scion." 



61. 



In "Orchard and Garden" (Feb., 1891), 

 that veteran Missouri-Kansas viticulturist, 

 Dr. J. Stayman of Leavenworth, gives an 

 article on grafting the grape, from which we 

 make the following extract, as his method of 

 preparing the stock differs materiall}' from 

 the cleft-grafting which we have before de- 

 scribed and the Doctor has been so very suc- 

 cessful in his grafting operations that his- 

 method should be widely known. Dr. Stay- 

 man insists upon selecting scions at least & 

 to 8 inches long and not less than two buds, 

 which can best be fitted to the stock to be 

 operated on. He then says: " For grafting 

 grapes the tools required are a good, sharp 

 shoemaker's knife, a light mallet, fine saw, 

 pruning shears and a ball of grocer's wrap- 

 ping twine. We put all these into a basket 

 and wrap the graft-wood in a damp sack, and 

 go to work." 



We employ a per- 

 son to go ahead and 

 dig out with a spade 

 the ground all a- 

 round the vines, 

 down to a point 

 below the first tier 

 of roots, say 8 

 inches deep. In 

 spading down na 

 attention is paid to 

 the surface roots as 

 they must all be 

 cut away to get 

 down to a clean 

 stock to graft. 



This assistant 

 must not go too far 

 //^ ahead of the graft- 

 er, as the stocks 

 should not be too 

 long exposed to the 

 sun in that open 

 condition. If the 

 stock is not more 

 than half or three quarters of an inch 

 through: cut it off with the pruning shears, 

 but if larger, saw it off about six or seven 

 inches below the surface. Take off the 

 outside bark,* (Fig. 62) select the most 

 favorable side and cut a slope on the side 

 about one inch and a half long, and 

 about one-fourth of an inch deep at the 



* The Doctor lays Rrciit stress upon the removal of 

 the outside bark of tlie storks in all his grafting. He 

 says: " We take the hark off the stock in grafting, not only 

 for the purpose of seeing that the grafts tit and that 

 they are properly adjusted, but also that the damp soil 

 may come in contact with the inner bark so that callus 

 may form soon, as well as keep the grafts alive until 

 united, or roots are thrown out to support it." 



"Care should be used, however, not to cut or scrape 

 into tlie inner or live green bark which is firmly united 

 to the wood. Remove only the dead outer bark which 

 separates freely from the other." 



