PROPAGATION OF FRUIT TREES. 



213 



the cut end b6ing pared over with a knife (Fig. 84). A slit 

 should then be made in the stock between the bark and the 

 wood ; and the graft, after having been prepared in the 

 manner illustrated, is inserted. Several grafts may be 

 made in this manner in order to provide against dis- 

 appointment in one particular case, and, should all the 

 grafts develop growth, the healthiest and strongest must 

 be selected, and the others cut away. 



" Another method is cleft grafting (Fig. 82). The branch 



Fig. 84. OLD TREES PREPARED FOR RE-GRAFTING. 



Showing- the branches headed back in winter to a foot from their base ready 

 for crown or cleft grafting in March. 



on which it is intended to cleft graft the scion must be split, 

 and the opening held apart by a wedge. The graft must 

 then be cut in the form of a wedge, so as exactly to fit 

 the sides of the cleft, and the whole joint should be firmly 

 bound and covered with a sufficient quantity of wax to 

 allow the wounds time to heal, and also to exclude decay 

 and insect pests from the inner part of the cleft. 



" Saddle grafting (Fig. 83), as the name implies, is a 

 form of grafting which consists of a scion, cut in the 

 form of a saddle, which fits on to a * wedge ' made by 



