58 NATURE TEACHING. 



necessary to have the hands well greased with 

 tallow while handling this wax. 



3. Budding tape is prepared by dipping 

 strips of cloth into melted wax. The wax used 

 is bees wax mixed with a sufficient quantity of 

 kerosene to render it soft and pliable, the 

 mixing being aided by the cautious application 

 of heat ; a mixture of two parts of bees- 

 wax with one of resin is often used, the two 

 substances being carefully melted together. 

 Various kinds of cloth are employed, some 

 workers using linen or calico whilst others 

 prefer thin flannel. The cloth is torn into 

 strips about f inch wide and of convenient 

 length which are dipped into the melted wax, 

 then lifted out and all the superfluous wax 

 allowed to drain off ; when cool the strips are 

 ready for use. A sufficient supply of budding 

 tape to last for some time should be prepared. 



4. One of the simplest, and at the same 

 time economically useful, instances of grafting 

 is that of the cultivated egg-plant (Solanum 

 Melongena) on the common allied form (Sola- 

 num torr/um) found as a weed in every West 

 Indian island, and known locally as sushum- 

 ber (Jamaica), shushumber (Leeward Islands), 

 melongene (Dominica.) To perform the opera- 

 tion select a convenient wild plant as a stock 



