PROPAGATION- BT GEAFTING. 203 



The French Mastic, so long known as "Lefort's 

 Liquid Graftiug-Wax," is made by melting o ^ r"'in'^ of 

 common rosin over a gentle lire, addmg one ounce of 

 beef tallow, the latter to be well stirred in. Take it 

 from the fire, let it cool down a little, and then mix in 

 eight ounces of alcohol. The alcohol will cool down 

 *;he mixture so rapidly that it may be necessary to place 

 it over the fire again. The utmost care must be exer- 

 cised to prevent the alcohol from taking fire. The com- 

 position should be kept in tin boxes or glass jars until 

 wanted for use. This mastic is highly recommended by 

 the nurserymen of France, but as its composition and 

 mode of making were until quite recently a kept secret, 

 it has been used only in very limited quantities in this 

 country, owing to the cost of importing it. 



In all the different modes of grafting great care should 

 be observed in having the external surface of the wood of 

 the stock and cion exactly even — no matter whether the 

 inner surface of the bark is even or not. This allows 

 the new cells which form between the bark and wood, of 

 both stock and cion, to unite and form channels through 

 which the sap can readily pass. The sap ascends through 

 the wood of the stock into that of the cion (graft), caus- 

 ing the leaves to expand, which, in their turn, assimilate 

 it preparatory to its descent, as stated in a previous 

 chapter. 



The time for grafting most kinds of woody plants in 

 the open air or nursery is in the spring, just before, or 

 soon after, the sap begins to flow most rapidly, varying 

 the time according to the nature of the different species 

 to be operated upon, for experience has demonstrated 

 that some kinds should be grafted much earlier than 

 others, without regard to any apparent movement of the 

 sap. These variations in the time of grafting, as well as 

 m the condition of the stock, will be referred to more 

 fully in a succeeding chapter. 



