Grafting the Grape -Vine. 19 



that a feeble grower can be made more vigorous by grafting into a stronger 

 stock, is not doubtful. 



It is the large percentage of failures that occur in grafting the vine, the 

 uncertainty of a successful union between the stock and the graft, if any 

 thing, that makes the utility of this process doubtful. 



Some cultivators advise late fall as the best time for grape-grafting ; 

 others say very early spring is best ; June is also recommended. Failures 

 and successes have followed grafting at each of these periods ; but, with 

 good and well-ripened scions that have been properly kept, the middle or 

 last of June has proved to be a more favorable time, according to the expe- 

 rience of the writer, than either fall or spring. The vine is then in active 

 growth, the sap thickens rapidly, and there is less danger from the stock's 

 bleeding. Grape-grafting is not a new process, and is only briefly alluded 

 to here for the benefit of those who wish to experiment. It is easily per- 

 formed by any person who is " handy " with edge-tools. Probably any 

 of the forms used to bring the scion in contact with the stock may answer ; 

 but the common method of cleft-grafting has been quite as successful as 

 any other. It is simply to cut an established vine down to about two or 

 three inches below the surface soil ; then to split the stock, and hold it 

 open with an inserted wedge till the scion is fitted. The connection be- 

 tween the barks should be quite perfect, that they may join and assimilate. 

 Scions usually have from one to three buds ; and, when set, the lower bud 

 is outward. With small vines, the scion is bound or tied in with a strip of 

 matting or string that will easily decay ; but, with stocks of half an inch or 

 more in diameter, merely pressing the earth up firmly is considered suffi- 

 cient, if the junction is good. When the earth is again replaced, a few 

 shingles, or, what is better, an inverted flower-pot is temporarily set over 

 the graft to shield it from the sun. Finally, suckers coming from the stock 

 are removed as they appear ; and although the graft may not start till late 

 in July, if it keeps fresh, the prospects of success are not discouraging. 



George Lincoln, jfun. 



HiNGHAM, Mass. 



