68 THE GRAPE CULTURIST. 



for early in fall, as in that case there is more time for 

 the union to take place ; besides, the sap in the roots of 

 the vine remains longer in the fluid state in the fall than 

 in the top, as may be seen by examining the roots after 

 the leaves have fallen, and when no sap is observable in 

 the branches. This is owing to the fact that roots, in a 

 great measure, are out of reach of the frost, which has 

 checked the flow of sap in that portion of the vine above 

 ground. All the roots of the vine are seldom in a per- 

 fectly dormant state, consequently the sap is always ready 

 to flow upward into the branches whenever they are not 

 frozen. The vine, as well as nearly all woody plants, 

 continues to expand its buds during the winter months. 

 And if there were no such action as this, then there 

 would be no production of new fibers and callosities, 

 which every practical horticulturist must have observed 

 as taking place, especially upon the roots of trees and 

 plants that have been transplanted in the fall. These 

 facts led me to try the grafting of the grape early in the 

 fall, and the results have been all that I could wish ; for 

 when the grafts have been properly inserted I have found 

 them in the spring, without an exception, to be firmly 

 united to the stock. 



Within a few years following the appearance of this 

 mode of fall grafting of the grape in the Grape Culturist, 

 I received many reports, and from various sources, some 

 condemnatory, while others recommended it, which was 

 not unexpected, because similar results usually follow 

 any of the many forms of grafting in use and at differ- 

 ent seasons. If the grape is to be grafted for the pur- 

 pose of securing continued benefit from a healthy, strong 

 root, as, for instance, when employing "phylloxera-re- 

 sisting stocks," then the cions should always be inserted 

 slightly, if at all, below the surface of the ground ; for 

 if placed deeper new roots are likely to be emitted from 

 the cion, and when this occurs the original stock roots 



