354 



GENERAL SCIENCE 



which in turn grow new tubers. The white potato grows 

 wild in South America. 



Many plants can be grown by cutting a branch and 

 placing a few inches of the larger end in the ground. The 

 branch or limb must have buds on it. The part which is 

 in the soil will grow roots and that part above the soil 

 will grow stem and leaves. Examples are the poplar, 

 willow, currant bushes, and grapevines. The grape 

 should be cut with three buds on the part to be planted, 



two buds to be covered with 

 soil and the third one left 

 above the soil. 



243. Grafting and Budding. 

 - Grafting and Budding are 

 forms of propagation by cut- 

 tings and are used for the pur- 

 pose of growing fruit of the 

 same variety as that from which 

 the grafting twig or bud was 

 taken. Since fruits with pulp, 

 like apples and peaches, are mostly cross-fertilized in 

 the blossom, the seeds, if planted, will not produce trees 

 that will grow fruit just like the parent trees. 



The most important thing to be known about grafting 

 and budding is that the cambium layer of the bark of the 

 two parts must touch in such a way that the sap can flow 

 from one to the other. For grafting, the wedge-shaped 

 cut is very convenient for bringing the cambium layer 

 of each part into contact. Twigs about six inches long 

 may be cut and tapered off in the form of a wedge at the 

 end opposite the terminal bud. The grafting twigs are 

 called scions. For top-grafting the end of a small limb 

 or the top of a young tree is cut off and a wedge-split 



GRAFTING A TOP BRANCH 



