150 



THE NURSERY-MANUAL 



the cion fits tightly throughout its whole length, and to protect 

 the wound completely with an air-tight covering. The practice 



must be modified, of course, to suit 

 the stock and the occasion. 



Sometimes rooted cuttings of grapes 

 are cleft-grafted (Fig. 172), and 

 these, being in the ground, are well 

 protected, and it is difficult to split 

 the stub deep enough to allow the cion 

 to be thrust in far. If the stub, in 

 FIG. 173 Cleft-grafting on thi h littl elasticity after 



old grape stock. ' * 



being split, it should be 



tightly wound to keep the cion in place. An old 

 grape stock, cleft-grafted, and then covered with 

 earth, is seen in Fig. 173. These covered grape 

 stubs are usually not waxed. This is the common, 

 and generally the best, method of grafting the 

 grape. 



The wounds must now be covered with wax. Fig. 

 174 is a stub after the covering has been applied. 

 If the grafting is performed in early spring, when 

 the weather is cold, the wax will have to be applied 

 with a brush. The wax is melted in a gluepot, 

 which is carried to the tree. But if the weather is 

 warm enough to soften the wax, it should be ap- 

 plied with the hands. The hands are first greased 

 to prevent the wax from sticking. The two side 

 or vertical portions are applied first. The end of 

 the mass of wax in the hand is flattened into a 

 thin pad about a half inch wide. This pad is then FlG 174 

 laid over the lower bud of the cion and held there A waxed stub 

 by the thumb of the other hand, while the wax is (x *'' 

 drawn downwards over the cleft, being pressed down firmly 

 upon the bark by the thumb of the first hand. The wax 



