CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 81 



waiting until the buds have started, and danger from 

 bleeding has passed. While these methods are care- 

 fully described and recommended, it is still a fact, that 

 comparatively few are successful in grafting, and but few 

 attempt it. Certainly it is not as easy an operation as in 

 the case of the apple or the pear. First of all, it is the 

 almost invariable recommendation to go below ground. 

 A serious and universal difficulty arises from the exces- 

 sive bleeding of the vine wherever a cut is made in the 

 spring. When the whole top is taken off, the flow is so 

 free as to drown and rot, or poison the vine in some in- 

 stances. Some persons do, however, have very tolerable 

 success by commencing quite early, before the flow of 

 sap has become free. The following directions, given by 

 Chaptal, and practised very successfully in France, will 

 apply equally well to this country : " Having selected a 

 healthy stock, it is, just when the sap is beginning to flow, 

 taken off with a clean cut an inch or two below the 

 ground. The upper portion of the stock, which must 

 be perfectly free from knots, is split evenly down the 

 centre, and pared quite smooth within, to a sufficient 

 size for the reception of the scion. The latter is pruned 

 to three eyes in length, having the lower part cut in the 

 form of a wedge, commencing about an inch below the 



