LUTHER BURBANK 



cions are then cut and connected with the bark 

 usually one on each side of the cleft. When the 

 tool is removed, the sides of the stock hold the 

 cions tightly so that it is seldom necessary to tie 

 a string or piece of cloth around the graft. It is 

 usually best to put on a piece of cloth, however, 

 after waxing. This insures more uniform results. 



Grafting wax, a formula for which will be 

 given presently, is usually applied several inches 

 below the crack which was made for the cleft 

 in which to insert the cions. 



In some cases, however, the stock wiU later 

 crack below the point where the grafting wax was 

 applied, and when this occurs there is great 

 danger of the graft dying. For this reason it is 

 wise to visit the grafts several times at intervals 

 of a week or so and where any open crack is 

 found, additional wax should be applied. 



There are various modifications of the cleft 

 graft. One is used for the walnut and flg which 

 it is almost impossible to graft by the common 

 cleft graft. 



Modifications are made as follows: Instead 

 of splitting the cleft, triangular grooves are made 

 with a fine-toothed saw on several sides of the 

 stock. The edges of these splits are pared smooth 

 with a sharp knife and the cions which are 

 usually large, after being carefully fitted, are 



[174] 



