GRAFTING. 



117 



bud (Fig. 98) ; the joint is sometimes bound with lead foil 



kept in position by raffia ; or, better, rubber ligature. 



Generally the joint is simply bound in 



raffia over which a light emulsion of clay 



is brushed, or sometimes it is plunged 



into the mixture. The cuttings grafted 



in this manner are planted in parallel 



trenches. The lines are placed in groups 



of two, 20 inches apart, with a space of 



28 inches between each group, so as to 



allow the removal of the roots and suckers 



(Fig. 99). The operation of planting may 



be organized in the following way which 



is that of Richter, of Montpellier : 



1st. A trench is opened with a spade 

 along the line, the sides being made almost 

 vertical, and the soil placed on the other 

 side of the line. 



2nd. The line is taken away and replaced 

 by a wooden straight-edge 6 feet in length 

 (A B, Fig. 100), divided into two equal 

 parts by a mark, t. It is kept in a 

 vertical position by a small piece of wood, 

 B C, screwed in a perpendicular direction. 



If the soil is clayey the angle of the 

 trench where the cuttings rest is filled 

 with sand ; if, on the contrary, the soil is light it is simply 

 dug at that angle. 



The cuttings are stuck upright in the sand resting against 

 the side of the trench, the eye of the scion level with the 

 edge of the straight-edge, so as to have all the joints at the 

 same depth. (See Figs. 38 to 43, page 79, and Fig. 101.) 



3rd. The filling up of the trench is done progressively, as 

 follows : A workman half-fills the trench with soil, a second 

 workman rams it down with his foot ; a third rams it over 

 again with a kind of rammer, and a second group of three 

 workmen finish filling the trench in the same way. 



4th. The third group of workmen form the mounds. One 

 man heaps the soil with a little hoe, another compresses it 

 against the scion with his hands, being careful not to shake 

 it ; the third man brings the soil over the scion with a 

 rake. A fourth man finishes the mounds and gives them 

 a regular shape. 



Fig. 98. - Whip-tongue 

 Grafted Cutting. 



