BUDDING AND GRAFTING. 



119 



Cleft Grafting is the more common mode. It may be 

 practised on large or small stocks, but 

 for the latter whip-grafting only should 

 be employed. The top of the stock 

 is cut off carefully with a fine saw, and 

 pared smoothly with a sharp knife. 

 The stock is then split with the graft- 

 ing tool, and held open with the chisel 

 of the same, figure 48. A common 

 knife will answer for splitting, and the 

 split may be kept open for insertion 

 with a wooden wedge or a large nail of 

 which the point has been ground down 

 to a wedge shape. Sharpen the lower 

 part of the scion into a smooth wedge, 

 one and a half inch long, more or less, 

 according to its size and that of the 

 split in the stock. The exterior side 

 of the scion when sharpened should be 

 slightly thicker than the other, that it 



may be sure to make a close fit there, figure 49. Let the 



scion have two or more buds, 



of which one should be on 



the wedge and inserted just 



below the top of the stock, 



figure 50. This often grows 



when the others fail. The 



main point is that the inside 



bark of the scion and that of 



the stock should exactly cor- 

 respond, and meet at their 



edges at least in one place. 



To effect this, it is usual to 



set the scion so that its upper Fig. 48. Fig. 49. Fig. 50. 



extremity falls a little without the line made by the con- 

 tinuation of the stock on the side in which it is inserted. It 



Fig. 46. Fig. 47. 



SPLICE GRAFTING. 



