PROPAGATION BY BUDDING AND GRAFTING 169 



The base of the cion was at T below which is stock and 

 the top at N. The upper scar at N is the top of the cion itself, 

 but the other scars show where superfluous twigs were removed 

 after the cion had grown a year. This type of double- working 

 of fruit-trees is to be recommended for weak or wayward 

 growers. 



Another practice now known as double-working is growing 

 up in North American nurseries. It is the effort to produce 

 named own-rooted stocks, thereby having a root of known 

 hardiness and resistance to disease. By the use of the long 

 cion and the short root, the cion becomes own-rooted in two 

 years and this cion is then used for a stock as if it were a seed- 

 ling (page 139). Success depends not alone on the methods of 

 propagation but on the choice of a variety (for cions) that 

 roots readily. Varieties of apples, for example, differ widely 

 in their ability to form cion-roots. In this field undoubtedly 

 lies opportunity for improvement in nursery propagation (page 

 182). It is the intention thereby to produce a stronger tree, 

 to escape such diseases as collar-rot of the apple and to circum- 

 vent the root-louse (woolly aphis) to which many roots are 

 particularly susceptible. The top of the tree is of known char- 

 acter and quality : the problem is to produce a root of known 

 quality. 



Grafting-waxes 



There are many recipes for waxes or mastics for protecting 

 grafts and covering wounds. In this country, the resin and 

 beeswax waxes are most used, although certain of the alcoholic 

 waxes are popular in some regions. In Europe, many clay 

 and pitch waxes are in common use. For most purposes, the 

 wax No. 1, in the following list, is one of the best, especially 

 for applying by the hand. The soft alcoholic waxes are liable 

 to melt from exposed stubs in our hot summer suns ; but they 

 are useful for indoor work and for cool weather. 



