88 THE APPLE-TREE 



of the girdle are trimmed to fresh tight bark; cions are 

 cut wedge-shape at either end; the ends are inserted 

 underneath the bark at bottom and top of the wound; 

 edges of the wound are securely bandaged ; entire work 

 is covered with wax. The cions are many, so close that 

 they nearly touch. The buds on the cions are not al- 

 lowed to produce branches. This process is known as 

 bridge-grafting. 



With some experience, the cultivator soon learns to 

 make many deft applications of ingrafting. Sometimes 

 a piece of bark may be used as a patch. In the bracing 

 of crotches in young trees, the two trunks may be joined 

 by uniting a small branch from either one, twisting them 

 together to form a bridge like a bolt ; they can be made 

 to grow together, forming a solid union. Bolting the 

 parts with iron rods, or holding them together by means 

 of chains, is the usual and commonly the better method. 

 The iron is not to go around a limb, however, for gird- 

 ling results; the rods or chains should be secured by 

 bolts bored through the wood and pulling against large 

 heads or washers. 



The usual repairs are easily made. When trees are 

 badly injured, and particularly when the tree is low in 

 vitality, it may not be worth while to engage in surgery. 

 It may be better to plant a new tree. Saving very old 

 trees by the mending processes is not likely to be satis- 

 factory. The grower should transfer his affection to a 

 young tree. If the tree has had good care throughout its 

 life, it probably will not need much surgery in old age. 

 The grower will be willing, when the time comes, to 

 take a photograph for memory's sake and to let the tree 

 come to a timely and artistic end. 



