GRA 



[392 ] 



GRA 



general, is performed on 



trees on which the top is^\ ^ 



required to remain, and is\\ 



well adapted for the inser- ^\ 



tion of new kinds of pears, N|\ 



or other fruits, on esta- V 



Wished trees, in order to 



increase the collection, or 



to hasten fruit-bearing. It 



is also adapted to furnish 



naked portions of old shoots. 



It is, however, not so safe / 



a mode as some of the 



others. Little description is needed; 



the cut will sufficiently illustrate it. 



6. Chink or Shoulder Graft- 

 $ n fl._This is not much in use 

 in this country ; and, indeed, we ' 

 see little occasion for its prac- 

 tice. When the stock and scion 



are equal in size, however, it 

 offers an opportunity of gaining [ I" ? 

 the advantage of an extra amount |\ 9 

 of alburnous union. The cut will | \ ? 

 explain it. 



7. Boot Graf liny. An old practice ; 

 but, with regard to deci- 

 duous fruit-trees,it offers 



no particular advantage 

 over the ordinary whip 

 grafting,when performed 

 near to the ground. It is, 

 perhaps, better adapted 

 for very large scions, for 

 in many trees such may 

 be used when two or 

 three inches diameter. 

 When strongly bound 

 they may be soiled over- 

 head, merely leaving a hole for the bud 

 of the scion to come through, which, in 

 this case, will rise like a sucker. 



8. Peg Grafting. This mode is now 

 never practised in England, 



and we only insert the an- 

 nexed engraving, because it 

 completes our catalogue of 

 all the known modes. Of 

 these eight modes there are 

 many modifications ; but they 

 are all derived from the eight 

 enumerated. Peg grafting 

 never having been practised 

 by ourselves, we shall only 

 make this extract relative to 

 it : " The scion must be of the exact size 

 of the stock ; bore a hole into the centre 

 of the stock, one and a half inch deep ; 

 cut the bottom of the scion to fit ; the 



edges of the barks must be very smooth 

 and fit exactly." 



General Observations. For ordinary 

 garden purposes, we think the whip, the 

 cleft, the saddle, and the crown, the most 

 eligible modes by far. These may be- 

 said to be the rule, the others are merely 

 exceptional cases. 



In all these proceedings a few axioms 

 or main principles must be kept steadily 

 in view. Of such are the following : 



1st. The scions of deciduous treea 

 should be taken from the parent tree 

 some weeks before the grafting season, 

 and " heeled " (the lower ends put into 

 the soil) in some cool and shady place. 

 This causes the stock to be a little in 

 advance of the graft, as to the rising of 

 the sap, a condition admitted on all hands 

 to be essential. 



2nd. Let all the processes be performed 

 with a very clean and exceedingly sharp 

 knife, taking care that nothing, such as 

 dirt or chips, gets between the scion and 

 the stock. 



3rd. Let the bandage be applied equally 

 and firmly ; not so tight, however, as to- 

 cut or bruise the bark. For this reason, 

 broad strands of bast are exceedingly 

 eligible. 



4th. In selecting grafts be careful in 

 choosing the wood, avoiding, on the one 

 hand, exhausted or bad-barked scions, 

 and, on the other, the immature, watery 

 spray which frequently springs from the 

 old trunks of exhausted or diseased trees. 



Grafting Clay, to make. Take some 

 strong and adhesive loam, approaching 

 to a clayey character, and beat and knead 

 it until of the consistence of soft-soap. 

 Take, also, some horse-droppings, and 

 rub them through a riddle, of half-inch 

 mesh, until thoroughly divided. Get; 

 some cow-manure (the fresher the better), 

 and mix about equal parts of the 

 three, kneading and mixing them until 

 perfectly and uniformly mixed; some 

 persons add a little road-scrapings to the 

 mass. A vessel with very finely-riddled 

 ashes must be kept by the side of the 

 grafter, and after the clay is closed round 

 the scion the hands should be dipped in 

 the ashes : this enables the person who 

 applies the clay to close the whole with 

 a perfect finish. It must be so closed 

 as that no air can possibly enter; and 

 it is well to go over the whole in three or 

 four days afterwards, when, if any have 

 rifted or cracked, they may be closed. 



