30 TREATISE ON 



and the same size as the stock E or as the branch of the stock on which it will be grafted. 

 Near the end of this branch I make an incision in the bark all the way around, turning the 

 branch under the blade of the pruning knife. Then, twisting the bark above the incision, I 

 create a tube of bark G three or four finger-breadths long & having one, or at most two 

 buds. After the stock has been topped, I strip off its end a tube of bark F of the same size, 

 or a bit longer, that I discard, & I replace it with the tube G. I cover the junction of the 

 barks and the end of the stock with wax or with molded earth to keep the rain from 

 getting in between the graft & the stock. Further, if the bare part of the stock is longer 

 than the bark put onto it, I split very small thin wood slivers around the end of the stock 

 that I turn down like a parasol over the end of the graft. 



Instead of removing a tube of bark from the stock, the bark can be slit vertically 

 and peeled off in strips. After the graft has been set, it can be covered up with these 

 strips, leaving the bud of the graft exposed, & the entire graft tied up. This is the 

 preferred way to do it. 



If the graft tube is too narrow, make a slit on the side opposite the bud & cover 

 the break with a thin strip of bark from the stock. If it's too wide, slit it the same way & 

 cut a vertical strip from it. In either case, the graft has to be tied on to keep it in direct 

 contact with the woody surface of the stock. 



This type of graft is practical for all sorts of trees as long as they're not gummy or 

 resinous & that their wood is good and well rounded, but it's usually done only on fig & 

 chestnut trees. Sap must be running fully in both the stock & the graft. 



VI. Fig. 1 . Instead of setting the cleft graft at the end of the stock or of its 

 branches, it can be placed on the side 



