44 PRACTICAL FOKESTRYo 



The alcohol will cool down the mixture so rapidly that it 

 may be necessary to put it on the fire again. The 

 utmost care must be exercised to prevent the alcohol 

 taking fire. This mastic is highly recommended by the 

 nurserymen of France, and it has been used to some 

 extent in this country for several years. It is imported 

 in tin boxes, and usually kept on sale at seed stores. 



I might give many other recipes for making grafting 

 wax and mastics, but believe that the above are the best, 

 and that the one made simply of rosin, beeswax, and 

 tallow is as good as any ever invented. Some nursery- 

 men of late years have substituted linseed oil for tallow, 

 and while it may answer for some kinds of trees, I am 

 inclined to think it is injurious to those with very thin 

 bark. I have known several instances where losses 

 have occurred that were attributed to the use of oil in 

 making the wax in grafting. 



In all the different modes of grafting, great care should 

 be observed in having the external surface of the wood 

 of the stock and cion, to be exactly even, no matter 

 whether the external surface of the bark is even or not. 

 This allows the new cells, which form between the bark 

 and wood, of both stock and cion to unite and form a 

 channel, through which the sap can readily pass. The 

 sap ascends through the wood of the stock into that of 

 the cion, causing the leaves to expand, which, in their 

 turn assimilate it, preparatory to its return to stock and 

 roots below. 



The time for grafting most kinds of woody plants in 

 the open air is in the spring, just before or at the time 

 the sap begins to liquify, varying the time to suit differ- 

 ent species, for experience has demonstrated, that there 

 are some which may be operated upon much earlier than 

 others. The shoots or young twigs to be used for cions, 

 may be taken from the parent stock in autumn, and pre- 

 served in earth, charcoal, sawdust, moss, or some similar 



