74 



HORTICULTURAL MANUAL. 



ding is coming into use in this country in changing the 

 top of mulberry, fig, walnut, chestnut, and oak. A ring 

 of bark two inches long is peeled from the 

 stock and thrown away. A similar ring is 

 peeled from the variety wanted and fitted in 

 the opening. To get a fit, it is usual to cut 

 the ring to be fitted from a shoot a little 

 larger than the stock and then paring with 

 a sharp knife. The top is not cut back the 

 same season. When cut back in the dor- 

 mant period the cut surface is waxed. The 

 buds on the inserted ring make vigorous 

 growth the next season* Fig. 41 shows the 

 ring when replaced on the stock. While 

 uniting it is safest to bind moist clay over 

 the whole surface of the ring. In this way the 



FIG. 41. writer has known the chestnut to be budded 

 Ring-budding. 



78. Grafting. There is no essential difference in prin- 

 ciple between budding and grafting. In both cases the 

 bud of the variety we wish to propagate is united to the 

 stock from which it develops growth. But in grafting we 

 usually use more than one bud attached to the wood on 

 which they grew. A main difference in favor of grafting 

 is that it can be used on a greater number of species in 

 the dormant period, while budding is confined to the 

 season when the bark will peel. Many modes of grafting 

 are used by amateurs, especially in Europe, but aside 

 from those described in this chapter they have no prac- 

 tical value except with the curious in special cases. 



A number of machines and appliances have been in- 

 vented and patented for grafting, but in practice, so far 

 as known to the writer, the hand work gives the safest and 

 surest results. As in budding all methods of grafting aro 



