GRAFTING- AND BUDDING. 



23 



Osiers (Salix purpurea or S. vitellina) are cut in winter 

 from pollards. They are used, either fresh or dried, for 

 fastening stocks or branches to the stakes. They are sorted 

 in sizes, tied in bundles, and put in a shady, dry place. They 

 should be soaked in water for at least twenty-four hours 

 before using. 



Eushes (Juncus diffhisus and J. glomeratus) are used for 

 tying up young herbaceous scions to the stakes. When the 

 .scion becomes woody, the rushes will not be sufficiently strong, 

 and must be replaced by osier twigs, strips of lime bark or 

 willow, bast mat, or the leaves of the reed-mace and bur- 

 reed. Eushes are gathered in summer, dried moderately, and 

 laid by in a loft. They require to be steeped in water for 

 only a few hours before using. 



STOCKS AND SCIONS. 



Raising the Stocks. 

 First stage. — The plants intended for stocks are obtained 

 either from seed, layering, or grafting. A sucker does not answer 

 so well, as the operation of grafting and its consequences have 

 a tendency to excite it to produce suckers. 



Solving. 



Seeds should be sown as soon as they are ripe : — 1st, from 

 April to June ; 2nd, from August to October. If it is not 

 convenient to sow them immediately, they should be placed 

 in a shallow vessel, in alternate layers of seed and sandy 

 soil, and laid by in a cellar. When they begin to germinate, 

 they may be sown in the open air. The soil of the seed-bed 

 should be well pulverised and carefully cleaned. The seed 

 may be sown either broadcast,, or in rows, or in holes. When 

 it is small in size, or near germinating, or wheu the season 

 -and the soil are cold, it should be but slightly covered. If sown 



