144 



GRAFTING. 



tion of cut liay, mixing the whole together, and adding a 

 little water; then let the whole be well beaten with a stick [or 

 wrought with a hoe] upon a floor, or other hard substance ; 

 and, as it becomes too dry, apply more water, at every beat- 

 ing turning it over ; and continuing beating it well at top till 

 it becomes flat and soft. This process ought to be repeat- 

 ed more or less, according as the nature of the clay may 

 require to render it ductile, and yet not so tough as to be 

 apt to crack in dry weather : for instance, it should be 

 several times beaten the first day ; and the next morning 

 repeat the beating, still moistening it with water ; and by 

 thus repeating the beating several times every day, for two 

 or three days, or every other day at least, for a week, it 

 will be in proper order for use ; observing that it should be 

 prepared a week at least before it is used ; but if a month, 

 the better, keeping it moist. Some recommend salt to be 

 mixed with the clay, and others, ashes or lime, rubbish or 

 drift sand ; the object in these cases being to prevent its 

 cracking with the sun ; which, however, the horse-drop- 

 pings, if well incorporated, will, in general, prevent." 



The grafting clay of the French and Dutch is composed 

 of half cow-dung, free from litter, and half fresh loam, 

 equally incorporated. They prefer this to all others for 

 excluding the external air from wounds in trees, &c. of 

 every description, and ridicule the idea of certain complex 

 compositions. A French writer on agriculture observes of 

 a noted English composition, (Forsyth's, we believe,) that 

 it is " so complicated and ridiculous in the eyes of those 

 who have any knowledge of chymistry or natural philoso- 

 phy, that it is a matter of astonishment how it could be 

 proposed in our age." 



Substitutes for grafting clay, — These are numerous. Some 

 of them are specified by Loudon, (Encyc. of Gard, p. 397,) 

 and in Thacher'^s Orchardist, p. 37, second ed. But we 

 have been assured by practical orchardists that most of 

 these are injurious. The pitch, tar, rosin, or turpentine, 

 which composes part of the composition of most or all of 

 them, is injurious to vegetation, and will not withstand the 

 heat of summer. 



There are various modes of grafting, of which we shall 

 describe some of the most common. 



1. Whip-grafting^ or, as it is sometimes called, tongue- 

 grafting j is most commonly practised in nurseries upon 

 small stocks. The stocks and the scions should be of the 

 same or nearly the same size. They are bet!: tr sloped 



