BUDDING AND GRAFTING. 



117 



should be used, one to prune and pare the stock, and the 

 other to prepare the graft. 



Grafting Wax. — A composition of very good quality is 

 made of four parts rosin, two of beeswax, and one of tal- 

 low. Melt it altogether, turn it into cold water, and work 

 and pull it thoroughly until it turns whitish ; just as chil- 

 dren do molasses candy. A wax for cold weather will 

 work better with a little less rosin, and in warm with a 

 little more. The stiffness of the wax is increased or di- 

 minished by employing less or more of tallow. In cold 

 weather keep the composition in warm water, and in warm, 

 in cold water. In putting it on, the hands must be 

 slightly greased, to keep it from sticking to them, but 

 grease the scion and stock in operating as little as possible. 



In applying the wax, be careful to cover the scion on the 

 sides and the cleft in the stock, forming a cap over the top, 

 and press it closely and tightly around the graft, so as to 

 cover every crack, and carefully to exclude the air and 

 water. Cloth, saturated in a composition made a little 

 softer by a greater addition of tallow and beeswax, is 

 more convenient than the wax itself, especially for whip 

 grafting. Take any thin, half-worn calico or muslin, tear 

 it into narrow strips, roll them loosely into small balls, 

 and soak them in the hot composition until every pore is 

 filled. When wished for use, it is unwound from the 

 balls, and torn into smaller strips, of the proper length 

 and breadth required by the size of the' stock; this, 

 wound two or three times around the stock and graft, se- 

 cures it perfectly, and is the most convenient way of 

 applying wax. 



Modes and Time of Grafting.— The modes of grafting 

 most usually practised are whip and cleft grafting, and 

 they are practised on the stem and branches, or the roots 

 of trees. Root-grafting can be performed at any time in 

 this climate, or from the fall of the leaf until the buds be- 



