PROPAGATION OF VARIETIES. 



19 



the slope on the stock is cut with a dovetail notch, b, into which the 

 scion is fitted. 



Tongue- grafting (or whip-grafting), Fig. 4, resembles very nearly 



Splice-Grafting the Peach. 



Tongue-Grafting, progressive stages. 



splice-grafting, except, instead of the simple splice, a tongue is made 

 to hold the two together more firmly. In order to understand this 

 method, let us explain it a little in detail. 



Having chosen your stock of the proper size, cut it off at the point 

 where, a, it appears best to fix the graft. If the stock is quite small, 

 it may be within three or four inches of the ground. Then, with a 

 very sharp knife, make a smooth cut upwards, 6, about two inches in 

 length. Next make a slit from the top of this cut about one-fourth of 

 the way downwards, c, taking out a thin tongue of wood. Cut the scion 

 four or five inches long, or so as to have three buds ; then shape the 

 lower end with a single smooth sloping cut, e, about the same length as 

 that on the stock, and make the tongue upward, f 9 to fit in the down- 

 ward slit of the stock. Now apply the scion accurately to the stock, 

 making the inner bark of the scion Jit exactly the inner bark of the stock, 

 at least on one side, g. Without changing their position, tie them 

 together carefully with a piece of bass matting or tape, h. And finally 

 cover the wound with well-prepared grafting clay or wax, i. This ball 

 of clay should more than cover the union, by an inch above and below, 

 and should be about an inch thick. If grafting-wax is used, the cover- 

 ing need not be above half an inch thick. 



American Whip Tongue- Grafting the mode generally practised by 

 American nurserymen is similar to the foregoing method, but much 

 more rapid in its execution. The scion and stock are first cut, as rep- 

 resented in Fig. 2, for splice-grafting, and then the knife is passed 

 upward in the scion, a } Fig. 5, and downward in the stock, 6, forming 

 a sliced tongue in appearance, and when joined together, c, serves to hold 

 the scion in place. The tying for out-door grafting is then done by a 

 narrow strip of cloth, say half an inch to an inch wide, one side of which 

 is saturated or coated with grafting-wax, and as each turn round the 



