LABORATORY MANUAL OF HORTICULTURE 



The limb, or stub, is split either by a grafting-chisel (Fig. 30), 

 of which two kinds are in common use, or by the ordinary wood 

 chisel. The essential requisite is to have the knife equipped with 

 a curved edge so as not to split the bark but rather to cut it, 

 and this is best accomplished by a curved blade. 



CLEFT GRAFTING 



1. Practice making several clefts and inserting the scions. 

 Make a drawing, four inches in length and one and one-half 

 inches in diameter, showing a stub and cut with the chisel in 



position. Show the length of 

 the split along the side. Does 

 this vary with each graft ? 

 What is the reason for this 

 variation ? Where is the 

 cambium layer in the stub 

 found ? 



Cut your scions, and insert 

 two in each stub, slanting 

 them outward at an angle of 

 four or five degrees (Fig. 31). 

 Now wax the stub over with 

 grafting-wax. The wax should 

 extend over the edge about 

 a quarter of an inch and com- 

 pletely fill the split on both 

 sides. Why? 



2. Make a natural-size 

 drawing of the scion. What 

 is the distance to the first 

 bud ? Why should a small 

 portion of the wood be left above the last bud ? The top of the 

 wedge-shaped cut should be near a bud. Why this precaution ? 

 Where is the cambium layer in the scion ? How do you insure 

 the cambium layer of the scion coinciding with that of the 

 stock ? Discuss. 



3. Make a drawing, four inches in length, showing the scions 

 in the stub after they have been waxed over (Fig. 32). The two 

 scions should slant outward at an angle of about five degrees. 

 Why ? What is the purpose of the wax ? 



[120] 



FIG. 31. Cleft graft, showing the scions 



in position in the stub before it is 



waxed over 



