PROPAGATION. 



239 



sphere, but they are more than doubly so when 

 the roots, upon which their supply of nourish- 

 ment depends, are also in a colder medium than 

 they are adapted to endure. When grafted on 

 a stock, the roots of which are not likely to 

 be injured in a properly drained soil by the 

 lowest ground temperature which occurs in this 

 country, tender plants, that can be properly 

 grafted on such, thrive tolerably, in consequence 

 of being fed by roots uninjured by cold. 



In many cases the stock can be suited to the 

 nature and condition of the soil and subsoil. The 

 Pear, for instance, sends down strong roots to 

 some depth; and in a wet subsoil, where they 

 would be in a constantly saturated medium, they 

 would perish. The Quince roots, on the contrary, 

 extend near the surface, and thus avoid the too 

 wet subsoil; it will also thrive in low situations 

 that are liable to be occasionally flooded, where 

 Pears on their own roots would not flourish. 



Grafting may be employed with great advan- 

 tage in bringing quickly into flower many kinds 

 of trees and shrubs which, when on their own 

 roots, do not commence bearing till they have 

 attained a considerable age and size. A young 

 plant might be twenty years before it formed a 

 stem to support limbs, and these again branches 

 or spurs for fruit; but by grafting a bud or 

 shoot of it on to a tree having a bulk of stem 

 and branches already formed, it is at once placed 

 in the same condition as if it had been allowed to 

 grow to that bulk of wood itself ; that, however, 

 requiring the lapse of some years. 



Modes of Grafting. 



1. Whip-grafting, or Splice-grafting, is, on the 

 whole, the most suitable mode, and the one 

 most extensively employed in this country. It 

 is represented by fig. 298, where A is the scion, 

 B the stock. In each a cut surface is exhibited, 

 showing the wood a a. The points at the ex- 

 tremities of the dotted line a and a touch the 

 inner barks of both stock and scion, whilst the 

 points at b touch the outer barks. It will be 

 readily observed that the bark of the stock, 

 because older, is thicker than that of the scion; 

 consequently, if, as ought to be the case, equal 

 surfaces of wood are exposed, the cut surface 

 of the scion would not completely cover that of 

 the stock, nor would this ever be the case, ex- 

 cept when the barks of both stock and scion are 

 of equal thickness. In proceeding to operate, 

 cut the top of the stock in a sloping direction, 

 terminating if possible above a bud, as at d. 

 Then take the scion and cut it sloping from 



above at c, and thin towards the end at /. 



The scion is now prepared. Then, proceeding 



to the stock, enter the knife at g, and cut a slice 

 upwards to c, so that the 

 surface of the wood shall 

 be, as nearly as possible, a 

 counterpart of the exposed 

 surface of the wood of the 

 scion. If this should happen 

 to be the case by a single 

 cut, so much the better, but 

 if not, it should rather be 

 I too narrow than too wide ; 

 for, in that case, a shaving 

 can be taken off till the cut 

 face a of the stock equals 

 that of the scion. The inner 

 bark, indicated by the points 

 at the ends of the dotted 

 lines a a of the scion and 

 stock, should be placed in 

 contact, the parts secured 

 by tying with matting or 

 , V * other material, and sur- 



j- ^m^ flWSjffi rounded with clay, grattmg- 



wax, or other substances, 



to exclude the air and wet. 



In operating as above 



detailed, the principle to be 



kept in view is the coincidence of the inner 



bark of the stock and scion. 



It is well to have a bud at the back of the cut 

 face of the scion, near the lower part, as at /, 

 fig. 298; for it sometimes happens that the scion 

 is broken by wind, or otherwise accidently in- 

 jured, and in that case the only chance of saving 

 the graft is by encouraging the bud / to grow. 

 In making the sloping cut on the scion, it is ad- 

 visable to insert the knife below a bud ; for that 

 bud will contribute to the healing of the wound 

 in its vicinity. 



The scion having been fitted as accurately as 

 possible to the stock, tie it firmly but not too 

 tightly by winding round it and the stock a 

 strand of grafting-cotton or soft bast. This 

 should then be covered with clay or grafting- 

 wax; some preferring the one, and some the 

 other. We shall suppose that grafting-clay is 

 to be employed. In that case, take a little of 

 it and rub it over the matting, squeezing it on 

 rather closely, so that it may not readily part ; 

 then take a ball of the clay, larger or smaller, 

 according to the size of the parts grafted, and 

 put it round, tapering the ball at top and bottom, 

 like an oblong spheroid. In working stocks 

 near the ground, the soil in many instances can 



Fig. 298.— Whip-grafting 



