GRAFTAGE 



ceous grafting, in which the cion is talien from green or 



growing wood. 



It is customary to classify grafting in respect to the 



way iu which the union is made. There are three 



1 types in common use in this country: 



rafting, whip-gratting, veneer-grafting. 



•'•iraftiuri consists in splitting the stocli 



srrtiTi- a wml-.'f-"=happ cion into the cleft. 



i|.lMy.-.i niily ill ]-;ti!M'r ]:iri.'.' stiicks, prefer- 



. The cleft is til. 11 h.M ,i|M.,i l,y ^ 



idge and the cions ;ir<' ins. [-Kd in ^_^^ 



GRAFTAGE 



663 



It is then put away for future use, and will keep indefi- 

 nitely. When used, the warmth of the hands will cause 

 it to soften. The hands should be greased to prevent it 

 from sticking. 



Cleft-grafting is the method usually employed in the 

 top-grafting of fruit trees, as apples, pears, plums and 

 cherries. Old peach trees are rarely changed over to a 

 new variety. If they are, budding is employed, as al- 

 ready suggested: the limbs are headed back so that new 



pose, 

 a wedge 

 the side of the 

 that the cambiums .if th- 

 cion are in contact (Fig. '.i:ii;i 

 is then securely waxed in ore 

 ration and to protect the w 

 (Fig. 937). Cleft-grafting i; 

 spring. The cions are taken ; 

 from the last year's shoots. ' 

 cellar or other cool place in 

 be perfectly dormant. It is o 

 of three buds' l.nstb ; but 



be somewl 



The whole surface 

 T to prevent evapo- 

 jnds from the sun 

 performed in early 



■A ..r rare, and 

 :} be made of 



l" in order that 

 ■left (Fig. 938). 

 near the top of 

 is covered with 



It IS customary to have one bud 



the wedge. Although this bud 



wax, it is themostlikelvto grow, ; 



the source of food supply and is less injured b, 



temalconditi.'ii-;. iT ]iii^li.s through 



the wax. It is .■nst..iii,ii-\ to insert 



only one bran.li is .1. sir.-.l. By in- 

 serting two cions, the chances of 

 success are doubled, and the wounds 

 heal better if a twig grows on each 

 side. After a year or two, one of 

 g^j the cions may be cut otf if desired. 

 iVhip- There are man y kinds of graf ting- 

 eraft. wax, but the one which is most 

 serviceable for applying with the 

 hands in the open air is made by melting 

 together one pound (by weight) of ren- 

 dered tallow, two parts of beeswax and 



943. Tree grown from i 



vood i 



944. Grafting knife IX }i). 

 secured in which the buds may be : 



four parts of res 

 pail or tub of wi 

 then pulled unti: 



. The melted liquid is poured into a 

 r, when it immediately hardens. It is 

 is light-colored and develops a grain. 



portant, in all top-working of fruit trees, 

 the suckers which spring up around the cion, and which 

 sometimes completely cboke it. In changing over the 

 top of a fruit tree, all the leading branches should be 

 LTiift.-.l I I'i^-. '.i::'.ii. It is w.-ll to stand at some distance 

 lr..iii till' tn-.- an. I ini.k. a inental picture of how the 

 i]-,..- will l...ik «liiii til.' II. w top is secured: the grafts 

 slioul.l I'f .set in a[ipr..xiiiiately a radius from the center 

 of the tree. It is rare that the stock should be larger 

 than two inches in diameter where the cions are set. On 

 some of the main branches it will be necessary to graft 

 side branches lower down in order to fill the top and to 

 afford footholds to pickers and pruners. It will require 

 from three to four years to change over the tree to a 

 new variety. Each year a little more of the original top 

 is removed, and the cions take more and more of the 

 space. 



Bark-grafting (Fig. 940) is a most excellent method 

 of grafting fairly large limbs, since it does not injure 

 the stock so much as the cleft-graft. The cions are cut 

 thin and inserted between the bark and wood. The bark 

 is securely bound to hold it tight, and the entire surface 

 is waxed, as in cleft-grafting. This method is called 

 crown-grafting by the French and English. 



Wliip-gralting is employed in the nursery and on very 

 small stocks. It is not used in top-grafting except now 

 and then on small limbs. The pictures sufficiently illus- 

 trate how the work is done. 

 The cion and stock should 

 be of approximately equal 

 size. Each is cut off in a 

 slanting direction, and a 

 split or tongue is made near 

 the middle. The same shape 

 is given to cion and stock 

 (Figs. 941,942). The object 

 of the tongue is to hold the 

 parts together securely ; it 

 also presents more contact. 

 The cion is then bound to 

 the stock, preferably by 

 means of waxed cord. If the 

 graft is above ground, the 

 wounds should be thorough- 

 ly waxed overthe string. If 

 the graft is below ground, 

 the tie will be all that is 

 necessary: the moist earth 

 packed around the wound 

 will prevent evaporation and 

 protect it. 



The chief use of^the whip- 

 graft is in root- grafting, 

 which is employed chiefly 

 on apples and mostly at the 



West. In the East, other things being equal, budded ap- 

 ple trees are preferable to root-grafted trees. In the 

 West, however, it is necessary to have apple trees on 

 roots of known hardiness. The seedling stocks are not 

 of known hardiness, even though the seeds have come 

 from the hardiest varieties. It is therefore customary 

 to use cions 6 to 12 in. long, grafted onto pieces of roots 

 2%^ in. long (Fig. 942). The graft is set so deep that 

 only the top bud of the cion projects above the surface. 

 The piece of root acts as a nurse, and roots may start from 

 the cion itself ( Fig. 943 ) . When the tree is transferred to 



945. Veneer-graftii 



