PROPAGATION. 



31 



1 



of damp (not wet) moss, or in small boxes of damp (not wet) 

 sawdust — large boxes of sawdust will heat. Mark every sort 

 carefully and plainly. Another good way to keep 

 scions through winter is to place them snugly in a 

 box till it is more than half full ; next nail in two or 

 three cross-pieces to hold them, and then bury the 

 box inverted with several inches of earth over it, on 

 a dry spot or knoll. They will thus be kept from 

 contact with the wet earth, and will receive enough 

 moisture from below to keep them fresh and plump. 

 Cuttings of currants, grapes, quinces, gooseberries, 

 VJA etc., are to be taken off in autumn, and they may be 

 lj(\?f kept till early spring in the same way as grafts, or 

 they may be set out at once, pressing the earth 

 compactly against them and covering well till spring 

 with manure, litter, leaves, or evergreen boughs. 



The accompanying en- 

 gravings (Figs. 30 to 36), 

 serve to show more distinct- 

 ly than the directions given 

 in the preceding part of this 

 chapter, the details of the 

 operations of budding and 

 grafting. Fig. 30 represents 

 the appearance of a shoot of 

 the pear, of one summer's 

 growth, at the time it is cut 

 from the parent tree to furnish the 

 buds, and will answer as an illustra- 

 tion for the apple, cherry, or other 

 fruit. The portion between the cross- 

 lines furnishes the best developed and 



ripened 



m 



I 



Fig. 36. 



Fig. 37. Fig. 38. Fig. 39. 

 Making and Packing Graft.s. 



buds. 



Fig. 31 is the 

 appearance of the shoot after 

 the leaves are cut ofE. Fig. 32 

 shows the manner in which 

 the budding-knife is inserted 

 under the bud for its removal; and Fig. 33 the position in 

 which the shoot is held during the operation. Fig. 36 shows 

 a common method of making the buds by cutting upwards. 



. Pig. 40. 



-Grafts Packed tor Sending 

 by Mail. 



