PROPAGATION. 91 



wound about it two or three turns ; as the wax causes the 

 bandage to adhere to itself where it crosses, no knot is 

 needed, and the thread is broken off with a quick jerk. 



In splice grafting, whether performed with any of the 

 machines, or if the slopes of root and scion be cut with 

 the thin grafting knife, the tying must be done by the 

 same hand that selects and places the scion upon the root. 

 This does not admit of the same division of labor, and the 

 fingers, becoming sticky from the wax, cannot be so nim- 

 ble, and are unfit for cutting. When the lot is tied, they 

 are set into the box, which should be inclined at an angle, 

 and interspersed with earth or saw-dust ; for transporta- 

 tion. Saw-dust, just as it comes from the mill, neither 

 wet nor dry, is preferred by some as a packing material, 

 and it has been found very efficacious, excluding and ad- 

 mitting the air just in the right proportions to prevent 

 desiccation, and to promote the union, which very soon 

 takes place between the graft and the root, if the boxes 

 be stored in the cellar. In an ice-house root grafts have 

 been kept in saw-dust more than a year, and tl)en planted 

 and grown successfully. The boxes should be deep 

 enough to receive the whole graft — say from 10 to 12 

 inches — and then they can be packed upon one another 

 without injuring the scions; these should be distinctly 

 marked with the name and number, so as to be ready for 

 planting out in the spring. 



Much discussion has been had upon the merits and de- 

 merits, or disadvantages of root grafting, and much the- 

 oretical argument has been brought against the practice ; 

 but beautiful trees are thus made in immense numbers in 

 the extensive nurseries of our country, and until better 



