150 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



usual to put on, besides the bandage of matting, a ball of well- 

 beaten clay, sprinkled over with a little wood-ashes, or the fine 

 siftings of cinders, to cover completely the parts grafted, that is, 

 from an inch below them to an inch or so above them (pi. 3, 

 fig. 5) ; and even to prevent this ball of clay from being washed 

 off by heavy rains, it is well to tie round it a covering of coarse 

 canvass, or else to earth up the whole plant as you do peas or 

 beans, drawing a little mould round it so as nearly to reach the 

 top of the clay. Something now remains to be said on the f uture 

 treatment of the grafted plant. In a month's time, at least, you 

 will see whether the scion have taken ; it . will then be either 

 bursting forth into leaf, or it will be irrecoverably dead. In this 

 latter case, take off immediately canvass, clay, bandage and dead 

 scion, and let the stock push forth what shoots it please, and re- 

 cover itself. In the former case, however, you must, as soon as 

 the scion is putting forth shoots, cut off, or rub off, all shoots pro- 

 ceeding from the stock between the ground and the clay, as these, 

 if suffered to push on, would divert the sap away from the scion, 

 and probably starve it ; then carefully stake the plant, that is, put 

 a small stick into the ground at within three inches, or there- 

 abouts, of the root, and long enough to reach a few inches above 

 the scion, which you will tie to it slightly with a piece of wetted 

 matting. This is really necessary ; for, when the shoots proceed- 

 ing from the scion become half a foot long, they, with the aid of 

 their leaves, become so heavy that, when blown to and fro by the 

 wind, they will break off immediately above the clay, or become loos- 

 ened down at the part joined to the stock. The staking being done, 

 you need do nothing more till about the middle of June, when you 

 should take off the whole mass of canvass, clay, and bandage ; but 

 be very careful, in taking off the clay, not to break off the plant at 

 the .junction. It should be done by a careful hand, and after a 

 day or two of rainy weather, as then the clay is moist, and comes 

 off without so much danger to the plant as when it is not. On 

 taking off the clay, there is found a little sharp angle left at the top 

 of the stock ; this should now be cut smooth off, as is marked by 

 the dots at a i^^fiff' 3. The bark of the stock and that of the scion 

 will heal over this, and the union is then complete. Lastly, it is 

 frequently found that mould, and sometimes small vermin, have 

 collected round the heretofore-covered parts of the plant, accord- 

 ing as the clay has been cracked by the sun. Rub off all mould 



