OTHER CONDITIONS TO BE OBSERVED IN GRAFTING. 339 



The French work the Wahrat in a variety of vrays, especially 

 preferring flute-budding (p. 308), They find it necessary, however, 

 that the sap should be in full flow, whatever the method they employ. 

 When the ring is properly fitted, the lips of the wound and the edges 

 of the ring being accurately adjusted, the whole is secured with graft- 

 ing wax, prepared by melting together | of pitch, A resin, f yellow 

 wax, f tallow, with the addition of as much fine brick-dust as will 

 give it consistence ; it is used as hot as the finger can readily bear it. 

 This sort of graft is never tied. In this way the French succeed in 

 grafting old trees which have been headed back ; but they, in such 

 cases, operate upon the shoots which such trees throw up from the 

 pollarded head. 



Buds should either he inserted when the vegetation of a 

 plant is languid, or growth ahove the place of insertion should 

 be arrested by pinching the terminal bud ; otherwise the sap, 

 which should be directed into the bud, in order to assist in its 

 adhesion, is conveyed to other places, and the bud perishes 

 from starvation. For similar reasons, when a bud begins to 

 grow, having firmly fixed itself upon the stock, the latter 

 should be headed back nearly as far as the bud, so as to 

 compel all the ascending current of sap to flow towards it; 

 otherwise the buds of the stock itself will obtain that food 

 which the stranger bud should be supplied with. 



In grafting also it is always found that a union between the 

 scion and the stock takes place most readily when the latter is 

 headed down; but this is not the only point to attend to. 

 The scion should always he so prepared that a bud is near the 

 point of union between itself and the stock; because such a 

 bud, as soon as it begins to grow, assists in the formation of 

 wood and also in binding the two together. The scion 

 should be more backward in its' vegetation than the stock, 

 because it will then be less excitable ; otherwise its buds may 

 begin to grow before a fitting commiinication is established 

 between the stock and scion, and the latter will be exhausted 

 by its own vigour : if, on the contrary, the stock is in a state of 

 incipient growth, and the scion torpid, cellular granulations 

 will have time to form, and unite the wound, and the scion will 

 become distended with sap forced into it from the stock, and 

 thus be able to keep its buds aHve when they begin to shoot 



7. 2 



