4io • THE APPLE 



value of root-grafted and budded trees. It has been proved beyond 

 any question that orchards of root-grafted trees are as uniformly 

 vigorous, productive, and long-lived as orchards of budded trees. 

 An unbiased examination of the older orchards of the East and 

 West should convince one of this fact. 



Whip-grafting. This process is to cut the tree on a slant or 

 angle and not straight across. The scion is cut in a like manner. 

 With a sharp knife the cut is made with one stroke. A tongue 

 is made on each slanting cut of both stock and scion by slightly 

 pushing the knife into the wood. The scion is then placed on the 

 stock, cut surface against cut surface, and the tongues lapped so 

 that they hold the scion in place. 



It is important to have the cut of both scion and stock similar, 

 and to have the cambium layer of the scion coincide with the 

 corresponding layer on the stock either entirely, where the stock 

 and scion are the same size, or partly, where the stock is larger 

 than the scion. Sometimes it may help to tie the scion to the 

 stock with raffia or twine, but this should be removed soon after 

 a union is made. 



Whip-grafting is sometimes used in top-working trees, as well 

 as in root-grafting. The operation generally takes place in the 

 spring. 



Cleft-grafting. This method of grafting is the most common 

 and the easiest to perform. A branch between I and i]- inches 

 in diameter is cut with a pruning saw, care being taken not to loosen 

 or tear the bark on the stub. If the saw is coarse the stub may 

 be dressed with a sharp knife, which will tend to hasten the 

 callousing. A grafting tool may be made by any local blacksmith 

 from an old file, and will be found more serviceable than the other 

 forms now on the market. The important characteristics of this 

 tool are the heavy, curved blade, sharpened on the inner side, and 

 the wedge on the end, placed well away from the back of the 

 blade. The curved blade prevents the unnecessary loosening of 

 the bark in making the cleft, and therefore is better than a straight 

 blade. The stub is split with this tool just enough to accommodate 

 the scions. The cleft is then held open with the small wedge, and 

 two trimmed scions are placed in the cleft. Each scion should 

 contain about three buds, and the lower end of the scion should 



