BUDDING AND GRAFTING. 



219 



the split in the stock. The exterior side of the scion when 

 sharpened should be slightly thicker than the other, that 

 it may be sure to make a close fit there (Figure 89). Let 

 the scion have two or more buds, of which one should be 

 on the wedge and inserted just below the top of the stock 

 (Figure 90). This often grows when the others fail. The 

 main point is that the inside bark of the scion and that 

 of the stock should exactly correspond, and 

 meet at their edges at least in one place. To 

 effect this, it is usual to set the scion so that 

 its upper extremity falls a little without the 

 line made by the continuation of the stock 

 on the side in which it is inserted. It is bet- 

 ter, as in Figure 91, to set it a little within or 

 towards the heart of the stock, and the base 

 of the scion a little out, and when the scion 

 and stock cross each other, a meeting- of the 

 edges will be certain, and even a novice will 

 thus succeed. One or two scions are set in 

 the stock according to its size; the wedge is 

 then withdrawn, and the whole carefully cov- 

 ered with the composition so as to exclude all 

 air and moisture. 



Root Grafting. — Both the whip and cleft 

 modes are successfully applied in root graft- R 00t Grafting. 

 ing, but splice grafting is more generally in 

 use. In root grafting fruit trees, the best stocks for the 

 purpose are seedlings, which are cut off at the collar 

 and grafts inserted in one or the other of these modes, 

 according to the size of the stock. If such stocks cannot 

 be got, roots of thrifty trees may be employed, but they 

 are more apt to produce diseased trees. This work can 

 be performed at any leisure time during the winter, and 

 when the winters are mild and open, they should be set 



m 



Fig. 91. 



