GRAFTAGE. 97 



become well rooted they may be removed in spring or autumn 

 and treated the same as seedlings. Layering is sometimes 

 practiced in European forests to fill up vacancies, and a sim- 

 ilar method is often employed in nurseries. 



GRAFTAGE. 



Graftage refers to the growing of one plant on the stem, 

 root or branch of another plant. There are several forms 

 of graftage which are generally known as grafting, budding 

 and inarching. It is a common practice to use graftage in the 

 growing of the different varieties of fruit trees and it is also 

 used to some extent in the growing of some of the varieties of 

 ornamental trees that cannot be grown from seed. Trees 

 that are grown by any form of graftage are seldom as long- 

 lived as those grown on their own roots and these methods 

 should be avoided when it is practicable to do so. These 

 methods are not much used in common practice and conse- 

 quently are not discussed at length here. 



Inarching is a rather unusual way of growing plants. It 

 works on the principle that when the growing stems, branches 

 and roots of the same or closely allied plants are held closely 

 together for some time they become united. Such unions of 

 roots are frequently found in woodlands; in some cases the 

 roots of the same trees and in others the roots of different 

 trees become grown together. Occasionally also trees are 

 found grown together by their branches or stems. Inarching 

 is sometimes used for growing the Cutleaf Birch, in which 

 case the sprouts from a stump of a Cutleaf Birch or the twigs 

 from a small tree laid on the ground are tied to small Birch 

 seedlings which have been grown in pots and plunged to their 

 rims in the ground near the tree. In doing this the bark is 

 removed for about two inches at the point of contact of the 

 twig and seedling, which are then tied firmly together. It 

 should be done by the middle of June, but will often be suc- 

 cessful if done even a month later. They should be kept 

 together until the leaves fall and then the branches from the 

 parent tree should be cut away leaving the seedlings with the 

 twigs grown fast to them. These should be carefully heeled-in 

 over winter and in the spring the seedlings should be cut off 

 just above the union so as to throw all their strength into the 

 adopted twig of the Cutleaf Birch. This method may also be 

 used to replace lost branches on trees or vines. 



