132 TREATISE ON THE CULTURE AND 



Always to take them from healthy fruitful trees ; for, if the 

 trees from which they are taken be sickly, the grafts very of» 

 ten partake so much of the distemper as rarely to get the bet- 

 ter of it, at least for some years ; and when they are taken 

 from young luxuriant trees, vvhose vessels are generally large, 

 they will continue to produce luxuriant shoots, but are sel- 

 dom so productive as those which are taken from fruitful 

 trees whose shoots are more compact, and the joints closer to- 

 gether ; at least it will be a great tiumber of years before the 

 luxuriant grafts begin to produce fruit, even if managed with 

 the greatest skill. 3dly. You should prefer those grafts which 

 are taken from the lateral or horizontal branches, to those 

 from the strong perpendicular shoots, for the reasons before 

 given. 



These grafts, or cions, should be cut off from the trees 

 before their buds begin to swell, which is generally three 

 weeks or a month before the season for grafting ; therefore,, 

 when they are cut off they should be laid in the ground with 

 the cut downwards, burying them half their length, and cover- 

 ing their tops with dry litter, to prevent their drying ; if a 

 small j. ant of the former year's wood be cut off with the cion, 

 it will preserve it the better, and when they are grafted this, 

 may be cut off ; for at the same time the cions must be cut to 

 a proper length before they are inserted in the stocks ; but, 

 till then, the shoots should remain of their full length, as they 

 were taken from the tree, which will better preserve them 

 from shrinking ; if these cions are to be carried to a considera- 

 ble distance, it will be proper to put their ends into a lump 

 of clay, and to wrap them up in moss, which will preserve 

 them fresh for a month, or longer ; but these should be cut off 

 from the trees earlier than those which are to be grafted near 

 the place where the trees are growing. 



Having given directions for the cions and grafts, we next 

 come to that of the stock, which is a term applied to the 

 trees intended for grafting ; these are, either such old trees 

 as are already growing in the places where they are to re- 

 main, whose fruit is intended to be changed ; or young trees, 

 which have been raised in the nursery for a supply to the 

 garden ; in the former case, there is no other choice, than 

 that of the branches, which should be such as are young, 

 healthy, well situated, and have a smooth bark ; if these trees, 

 are growing against walls, or espaliers, it will be proper to 

 graft six, eight, or ten branches, according to the size of 

 the trees, by which they will be much sooner furnished with 

 branches again, than when a less number of eions are put in jl 



