EXERCISE XXXV 



FIG. 29. A very good type of grafting-chisel, 

 showing the first position in cleft grafting 



THE STUDY OF CLEFT GRAFTING AND BARK GRAFTING 



Material. Stocks cut from apple or pear trees from one to two 

 inches in diameter and from twelve to fifteen inches in length. 

 Apparatus. Grafting-chisel, sharp knife, grafting-wax. 

 These two forms of grafting are used principally for the top- 

 working of old trees or for changing the variety of a large tree of 



inferior flavor. Occasion- 

 ally they are used to re- 

 place large broken limbs. 

 Cleft grafting is the 

 form universally used in 

 top-working or grafting 

 in the limbs of a tree. It 

 is limited to branches less 

 than two inches in diam- 

 eter, and is best suited to 



those between one inch and one and one-half inches in diameter. 

 The two essential parts in this form of grafting are the stub 

 (Fig. 29), or that part of the branch on which the grafting is 

 performed, and the scion 

 (Fig. 33). The scion is 

 a twig taken from one- 

 year-old wood, and should 

 contain three or four 

 strong, healthy buds. It 

 is usually from four to 



six inches in length. 



FIG. 30. The second position of the grafting- 



The scion is CUt wedge- chisel in cleft grafting 



shaped, and the length of 



the wedge should be not less than one inch, but the cut can vary 

 from one to one and one-half inches. The cut must be smooth, 

 and made by two draws of the knife. The outer edge is usually 

 a little thicker than the inner one, to insure the scion being 

 held firmly. 



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