HOW MAY I DO IT, TOO;—GRAFTING 
saved out of the burnings in the different tests 
branches are cut away, and each branch, little 
more than a twig in size, not more than half 
as thick as the little finger, is cut up into 
pieces about two inches long, each piece, tech- 
nically called a cion, bearing two to three 
buds. The tops and side branches of the tree 
which is to serve as the host for all the many 
grafts must be cut away, leaving the tree pre- 
senting a peculiarly grotesque appearance. In 
the end of each branch the pieces of the twigs 
from the little trees under test are to be 
placed. These host, or parent, trees are used 
from year to year, sometimes a single tree 
bearing five hundred distinct kinds of grafts at 
the same time. 
The workman who is grafting is equipped 
with a sharp pruning-knife, a saw to cut away 
the upper branches, a pot of melted wax, a 
brush and some pieces of white cloth. In the 
end of the sawed-off branch of the parent tree 
he cuts a slit with his knife. He has made one 
end of the two tiny grafts he holds wedge- 
shaped. One of the grafts he holds in his 
mouth, while he forces the wedge of the other 
down into the slit. Then the second graft is 
253 
