66 



THE ART OF 



in order to graft them, and laid in a trench or under a shed. 

 The scion is a branch or part of a branch, bearing at least one 

 eye, and from two to six inches in length. The shorter 

 scions are nsed in the case of kinds with closely-set buds or 

 expensive varieties. In a cold climate they must be of 

 a greater length. The scions may be taken from the parent 

 plant, when the sap has gone to rest, for spring graftings ; 

 they should be kept then in the shade of a building or tree, 

 with the ends buried in fine sand. If they are not required to 

 be used until the sap begins to flow, they should be kept 

 entirely covered with sand in a cool cellar. Evergreen scions 

 should not be detached from the parent tree until -immedi- 

 ately before they are grafted, and the leaves should be left 

 on them. Deciduous kinds grafted in summer should be cut 

 from the parent within twenty-four hours before grafting, 

 and their leaves at once cut off. It will matter little to the 

 success of the operation whether the upper bud of the scion 

 be a terminal or a lateral one. A shoot, if too long, may be 

 shortened, and, if required, may furnish several scions. In 

 order to facilitate the joining and cohesion of the two parts, 

 the scion is more or less cut at the base in a sloping direction 

 or splice cut. It should also be so placed on the stock that 

 a bud of the latter may be on a level with the graft, either 

 opposite to it or on one side, in order to draw the sap, and 

 thereby promote the cohesion of the parts. The different 

 sections of branch-grafting are side-grafting, crown-grafting, 

 grafting de precision, cleft -grafting, English method, and 

 mixed grafting. 



Section J. — Side- Grafting. 

 The term side -grafting might be applied to a vast number 

 of processes of grafting in which the head of the stock is 

 not cut away. But we have limited the term to those cases 

 in which the scion is inserted into the side of the stem, 



